AND 


LEWIS  B-MILLE 


SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 


THEN   THE    STEER    TOOK   THE    WATER   AND    FOLLOWED    JESS. 


Saddles  and  Lariats 

THE    LARGELY    TRUE    STORY    OF    THE    BAR-CIRCLE 

OUTFIT,  AND  OF  THEIR  ATTEMPT  TO  TAKE  A 

BIG    DROVE   OF    LONGHORNS    FROM   TEXAS 

TO  CALIFORNIA,  IN  THE  DAYS  WHEN 

THE   GOLD    FEVER    RAGED 


By 
LEWIS  B.  MILLER 

AUTHOR    OF 

"  The   White   River    Raft,"    "  A    Crooked    Trail,"    "  The    Barnaby 

Claim,"    "  When    the    Wemmikaw    Levee    Broke,"    "  Big 

Smoke   Mountain,"    "  The   Branded   Oak,"   "  Lep  and 

Coaly,"   "  The  Cruise  of  the  Blunderbuss,"  etc. 


BOSTON 

DANA  ESTES  &  COMPANY 
PUBLISHERS 


PZs 


Copyright,  JQOQ,  IQIO,  by 
LEWIS  B.  MILLER 


Copy  right y  IQI2,  by 
DANA  ESTES  &  COMPANY 


All  Rights  Reserved 


u.  c. 

ACADEMY   OF 

PACIFIC  COAST 

HISTORY 


TO   MY   FATHER, 

HENRY  MILLER, 

OF 

MlLLERVILLE,  TEXAS, 

WHO  KNOWS,  FAR  BETTER  THAN 

I,  THE  TRUE  STORY  OF  THE 

BAR-CIRCLE  OUTFIT 


AUTHOR'S  NOTE 

FOR  three  hundred  years  the  Anglo-American,  strong 
son  of  the  Anglo-Saxon,  has  been  engaged  in  conquer 
ing  his  three  thousand  miles  of  wilderness.  But  at  last 
his  giant's  task  is  ended.  No  more  remains  any  region 
between  the  two  oceans  that  deserves  the  name  of  wil 
derness.  And  with  that  conquest  has  ended  the  pioneer 
life  —  such  a  life  as  the  world  never  saw  before.  And 
certainly  the  world  shall  not  look  upon  its  like  again. 
Already  the  explorer,  the  Indian  trader,  the  hunter 
and  trapper,  the  cowboy,  the  settler  with  an  axe  in 
one  hand  and  a  rifle  in  the  other,  have  followed  the 
war-painted  savage  into  the  dimming,  shadowy  past. 

While  the  life  that  is  is  better,  it  can  never  be  so  pic 
turesque  as  was  the  rude,  homely  life  of  the  frontiers 
man.  And  the  farther  we  travel  from  that  simple 
life,  both  in  time  and  ways  of  living,  the  more  we  shall 
love  to  read  of  it  and  talk  of  it,  and  the  more,  it  may 
be,  we  shall  regret  that  it  has  gone  from  us  forever. 

Of  all  the  wild  life  in  America,  none  was  so  strik 
ing  as  that  to  be  seen  along  the  great  wilderness  trails 
—  the  emigrant  trails  and  the  cattle  trails.  And  in 
picturesqueness  nothing  could  surpass  those  vast  droves 
of  horned  steers,  with  their  overhanging  dust-clouds, 
their  shouting,  galloping  cowboy  drivers,  and  their  at 
tending  wagon-trains,  which,  now  nearly  two  genera 
tions  ago,  tramped  the  thousands  of  miles  from  Texas, 
the  land  of  cattle,  to  California,  the  land  of  gold. 


AUTHOR'S  NOTE 

It  is  the  story  of  one  such  caravan,  or  "  outfit,"  that 
I  have  tried  to  tell  in  the  pages  that  follow. 

While  these  experiences  were  first  set  down  from  the 
lips  of  one  who  had  had  an  active  part  in  them  all ;  and 
while  whole  chapters  are  almost  wholly  true,  and  the 
people  named  are  real  people,  and  several  have  their 
real  names,  the  narrative  is  not  strictly  true  as  writ 
ten.  Gladly  would  I  have  related  the  true  story  of  the 
Bar-Circle  Outfit  if  that  had  been  possible.  But  count 
less  details,  necessary  to  the  interest  of  the  story,  could, 
after  half  a  century,  be  supplied  only  by  the  imagina 
tion.  And  since  fiction  must  be  introduced,  it  seemed 
better  to  make  other  changes.  Where  things  so  un 
pleasant  happened  that  one  could  wish  they  had  not 
happened,  I  have  told  them  differently.  And  when 
nothing  of  interest  occurred,  I  have  filled  in,  partly 
with  fiction,  and  partly  with  true  incidents  borrowed 
from  other  sources.  The  invented  part  I  have  tried 
to  make  so  much  like  the  real  life  that  even  one  who 
knew  that  life  cannot  tell  where  fact  ends  and  fiction 
begins. 

In  short,  I  have  endeavored  to  give  the  narrative  the 
value  of  a  history  and  the  interest  of  a  story. 

Whether  I  have  succeeded  or  not,  the  reader  will 
judge  for  himself.  But  it  seems  to  me  well  worth 
while,  while  the  few  who  can  tell  of  that  far-past,  for 
ever-past  life  are  still  with  us,  to  make  some  record  of 
their  experiences. 

L.  B.  M. 

ST.  Louis,  MISSOURI. 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.  ON   GUARD  FOR  REDSKINS   »     •     •     .     •     1 1 

II.  A  DANGEROUS  SNAPPING  HOG  ....     21 

III.  ROUNDING  UP  LONGHORNS 29 

IV.  ON  A  LONG,  LONG  TRAIL  ......     37 

V.  A   MORMON    MIGRATION   TO    GREAT    SALT 

LAKE 48 

VI.  MARCHING,  MARCHING  NORTHWARD     .     .     58 

VII.    AROUND  THE  CAMP-FIRE 68 

VIII.  THE  BLUE  HORSE  AND  His  RIDER  ...     78 

IX.  THROUGH  STORMS  AND  FLOODS  ....     89 

X.  FORT  GIBSON  AND  THE  ARKANSAS     ...     98 

XI.  A  WILD  NIGHT  RIDE    .......   108 

XII.     IN  A  GRIZZLY'S  JAWS .119 

XIII.  FAILURE  AFTER  FAILURE 134 

XIV.  LEADING  THE  BELL-STEER       ....     .   147 
XV.  PERCHED  ON  THE  CRANE'S  ROOST   ,     .     .157 

XVI.  TAILING  THE  BELL-STEER      .     .     .     ,     .166 

XVII.  SINGING  FROG  AND  BLUE  BUTTERFLY  .     .176 

XVIII.    THREE  PONIES  FOR  A  WIFE 187 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

XIX.  OUTFITTING  FOR  THE  WILDERNESS  .     .     .   197 

XX.     NORTHWESTWARD  Ho! 206 

XXL  BURGESS'S  SADDLE-BAGS  STOLEN  .     . .    .     .  214 

XXII.  THE  WAY  OF  THE  TRANSGRESSOR  .     .     .  224 

XXIII.  CLIMBING  THE  ARKANSAS  RIVER     .     .     .  233 

XXIV.  A   MJDNIGHT   FIRE-ALARM    .     .     *     .     .  243 
XXV.  TRAMPING  THE  BLACK  DESERT  ....  253 

XXVI.  THE  CATTLE  STAMPEDED  BY  SAVAGES     .      .261 

XXVII.  CIRCLED  BY  FLYING   Sioux    .....  269 

XXVIII.  To  ANOTHER  DESTINATION   .     .     ,     .     .  277 


LIST  OF   ILLUSTRATIONS 


PAGE 


THEN  THE  STEER  TOOK  THE  WATER  AND  FOLLOWED  JESS  (see  p.  151) 

Frontispiece 

HE  COULD  DISCOVER  NO  SIGNS  OF  A  HUMAN  HABITATION  .       .       .  II 

DEFTLY  HOLDING  THE  THREAD  WITH  ONE  HAND   .       .     ,' ,<..•   ,       .  16 

BRANDING  THE  STEERS .*','.  34 

AWAY  JESS  WOULD  DASH  AFTER  HIM       .       .      C      .       .       .       .  39 

THE  MULE  TROTTED  AWAY  EVIDENTLY  WELL  PLEASED  WITH  HIMSELF  64 

HE  BUCKED  AND  BUCKED          ,      .      Y      *      .      .      .      .       .  80 

IN  THE  LEAD  WAS  THE  CREEK  —  RIDING  FOR  LIFE     •  /    *,      .       .  IO6 

AWAY  THEY  ALL  WENT  AT  HEADLONG  SPEED        .       .      ,      .       .  11$ 

PHIL  —  WAS  CARRYING  A  RIFLE  IN  HIS  LEFT  HAND  AND  A  CLUB  IN 

HIS  RIGHT      .       .       ,       ...:'.<    ••      -      •       ...  131 

AFTER  ADVANCING  A  FEW  YARDS  —  THE  CANOE  WAS  SEEN  TO  COME  TO 

A  STANDSTILL .      .      .      .  163 

"  MISTER,  YOU  ARE  NOT  WANTED  IN  THIS  CAMP  "       .       .       .       .  199 

IT  WAS  AN  INTERESTING  SIGHT,  THAT  GREAT  WAGON  TRAIN      .       .  206 

THE  ATTACK  ON  THE  WAGONS  .       ....     ..       .       .       .  270 


HE  COULD  DISCOVER  NO  SIGNS  OF  A  HUMAN  HABITATION. 


SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

CHAPTER  I 

ON.  GUARD  FOR  REDSKINS 

JUST  at  sunset  one  day  in  April,  1854,  a  horseman 
might  have  been  seen  riding  westward  across  a  broad, 
green,  tree-dotted,  grove-spotted  prairie  in  central 
Texas.  He  had  traveled  far  without  sight  of  a  set 
tler's  cabin;  and  as  the  pony  jogged  along  the  dim 
road,  nipping  at  the  grass  every  now  and  then,  the 
rider  shaded  his  eyes  with  his  hand  and  gazed  ahead, 
half  longingly.  A  dark  line  crossed  his  course  a  mile 
away.  It  was  timber  —  the  timber  skirting  the  Brazos 
River.  But  he  could  discover  no  signs  of  a  human 
habitation. 

As  he  sat  in  the  saddle,  the  traveler  appeared  an 
inch  or  two  less  than  six  feet  tall.  He  had  brown 
hair  and  a  smooth,  boyish-looking  face;  for  his  age 
had  barely  entered  the  twenties.  His  most  noticeable 
feature  was  a  shapely  but  rather  prominent  nose,  of 
the  type  which  takes  its  name  from  the  race  that  con 
quered  and  so  long  ruled  the  earth  —  the  Romans. 
In  build  he  was  rather  slender  and  wiry,  so  much  so 
that  the  most  careful  observer  would  scarcely  have  sus 
pected  the  amount  of  energy  and  endurance  that  lurked 
in  the  muscular,  toil-hardened  frame  of  this  farmer's 
boy, 

ii 


12  SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

The  day  had  been  warm,  and  he  was  still  in  his  shirt 
sleeves,  his  coat  being  tied  behind  the  saddle,  on  top 
of  a  blanket  and  a  pair  of  leather  saddle-bags. 
Though  traveling  through  a  wild  country,  he  carried 
no  gun;  but  the  polished  handle  of  a  six-shooter  pro 
truded  from  a  leather  holster  hanging  at  his  belt.  A 
Spanish  gourd,  large  at  each  end  and  small  in  the  mid 
dle,  was  fastened  to  his  saddle-horn  for  carrying 
water. 

Soon  after  the  sun  had  dropped  down  behind  the 
forest,  the  chill  in  the  air  drove  him  to  seek  the  warmth 
of  his  homespun  coat.  And  believing  that  he  would 
have  to  spend  the  night  by  a  lonely  camp-fire,  he  be 
gan  to  feel  in  the  saddle-bags  for  some  scraps  of  dried 
beef  left  over  from  dinner. 

But  presently  the  cheerful  barking  of  dogs  greeted 
his  ear.  Much  relieved,  he  urged  his  pony  to  a  faster 
gait. 

Not  far  in  the  woods  he  came  upon  a  little  group  of 
log-cabins,  daubed  some  with  lime  and  some  with  yel 
low  mud;  and  beyond  the  cabins  he  saw  a  farm,  thickly 
covered  with  girdled,  deadened  trees.  A  young 
woman  stood  in  the  door  of  the  largest  cabin,  and  some 
children,  both  white  and  black,  were  playing  in  the 
yard.  Two  mounted  men,  a  white  man  and  a  negro, 
were  just  pushing  a  little  drove  of  horses  into  a  rail- 
pen  near  the  cabins. 

Several  dogs  surrounded  the  traveler,  barking  at 
him  clamorously,  till  the  young  woman  scolded  them 
away.  He  waited  till  the  two  men  had  penned  the 


ON  GUARD  FOR  REDSKINS  13 

horses  and  put  up  the  bars;  then  he  said  to  the  white 
man: 

"  I'm  traveling.  What's  the  chance  to  get  to  stay 
all  night?" 

"  Purty  good,  I  guess,"  answered  the  settler,  a  tall, 
pleasant-appearing  man  of  middle  age.  "  But  you 
may  have  to  help  fight." 

"  Fight!     Fight  what?" 

"  Redskins.  The  country's  alive  with  'em.  That's 
why  we've  got  our  horses  penned.  Hadn't  you  heard 
about  'em?" 

"  No."  The  young  traveler  glanced  around  appre 
hensively.  "  They  didn't  mention  Indians  back  at  the 
last  settlement."  This  was  his  first  experience  of  the 
perils  of  frontier  life,  and  the  thought  that  his  scalp 
had  been  in  danger  caused  a  strange,  creepy  feeling  to 
run  over  him. 

"  The  red  varmints  hadn't  got  that  fur  east,  I  guess. 
But  they're  as  thick  as  sumac  berries  along  the  river 
here.  Well,  get  down  and  unsaddle.  What's  your 
name,  and  where  you  from?  " 

"  Holloway  —  Jess  Holloway;  and  I'm  originally 
from  Tennessee  —  Lawrence  county." 

The  settler  held  out  his  hand.  "  Glad  to  see  you, 
young  man!  I'm  from  old  Tennessee  myself,  a  little 
further  west,  on  the  Kentucky  line.  I've  been  away 
from  there  fifteen  years,  though.  Adams  is  my  name." 

They  shook  hands  heartily.  While  unfastening  his 
saddle-girts  the  young  man  explained: 

"  I've  been  away  from  home  three  years.     Spent 


i4  SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

one  year  on  a  big  plantation  in  Mississippi,  and  two 
years  farming  and  flatboating  in  eastern  Texas.  Now 
I'm  on  my  way  west  to  look  at  the  country." 

"  Well,  there's  lots  of  it  out  here  to  look  at,"  re 
marked  Adams.  "  Wait  a  minute,  and  we'll  take  your 
horse  to  water."  He  went  to  the  house,  and  soon  re 
turned  with  a  double-barrel  shot-gun  on  his  shoulder. 

The  two  followed  a  path  which  led  to  a  little  stream 
a  quarter  of  a  mile  down  in  the  woods.  On  returning, 
they  staked  the  horse  on  a  patch  of  crab-grass  inside  the 
field,  and  the  settler  called  to  a  negro  boy  to  bring  a 
few  bundles  of  oats.  Then  Adams  and  Holloway  went 
to  the  house. 

It  was  a  good-sized  room,  very  neatly  kept,  that  the 
young  traveler  found  himself  in.  The  night  had  grown 
chilly,  and  the  negro  man  was  kindling  a  fire  in  the  wide 
fireplace.  A  candle  was  already  burning  on  the  man 
tel.  The  young  woman  that  Jess  had  noticed  was  in 
the  room,  at  the  back  side,  busy  at  a  spinning-wheel. 
The  floor  was  made  of  puncheons  — hewn  slabs. 
Three  guns  rested  on  deer-horns  against  the  upper 
walls. 

"  Here,  here,  Tim,  do  you  want  to  run  us  all  out  of 
the  house?  "  the  settler  broke  off  his  conversation  with 
Jess  to  exclaim,  laughingly. 

After  starting  the  fire  the  negro  had  gone  out  and 
brought  in  a  big  armful  of  dry  wood,  and  was  about  to 
pile  it  on. 

"No,  suh!  Cose  not,  Mas'  Tom.  Feelin'  kin'  o' 
chilly  myse'f  — I  is." 


ON  GUARD  FOR  REDSKINS  15; 

He  put  down  the  wood  by  the  chimney-jamb  and 
went  out  Jess  noticed  that  he  was  dressed  in  buck 
skin  from  head  to  foot,  and  wore  a  coonskin  cap. 

"  Tim  loves  heat,"  the  settler  remarked.  "  The 
hotter  he  gets  the  happier  he  feels.  Guess  that's  be 
cause  all  his  forefathers  lived  in  a  hot  country.  He's 
a  good  fellow,  but  he's  better  at  everything  else  than 
at  farm-work.  He's  especially  fond  of  the  woods. 
Why,  he's  the  best  rifle-shot  in  this  part  of  the  country. 
I'm  something  of  a  hunter  myself,  but  he  can  kill  three 
deer  to  my  one.  He  keeps  us  supplied  with  meat,  and 
he  could  clothe  us  all,  I  believe,  if  we  cared  to  wear 
buckskin.  Most  of  his  people  are  rather  cowardly,  but 
Tim's  as  brave  as  they  make  'em.  He's  entirely  too 
brave  —  reckless,  in  fact.  The  Comanches  will  get  'im 
some  of  these  days." 

There  had  been  no  introduction,  but  the  young 
woman  sometimes  joined  in  the  conversation,  without 
stopping  her  spinning-wheel.  Jess  learned  that  she 
was  the  settler's  niece,  and  her  name  was  Sally  Adams. 

A  little  negro  girl  soon  came  to  announce  that  supper 
was  ready,  and  they  all  went  out  to  another  cabin. 
Here  Jess  found  Adams's  wife  and  children.  A  black 
woman,  the  cook,  waited  on  the  table.  The  dishes 
Jess  was  fondest  of  were  baked  venison  and  honey, 
both  of  which,  he  was  informed,  had  been  brought  in 
from  the  woods  by  Tim,  the  black  man. 

Supper  over,  the  white  people  returned  to  the  cabin 
they  had  left.  Mrs.  Adams  came  also,  but  soon  went 
out  to  put  her  children  to  bed.  Sally,  the  niece,  went 


1 6  SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

with  her,  but  later  came  back  and  started  her  wheel 
again.  And  she  made  it  sing. 

In  the  course  of  the  conversation  it  came  out  that 
Adams  and  Tim  had  both  been  up  most  of  two  nights, 
and  they  had  been  too  busy  to  sleep  in  the  daytime.  So 
Jess  said: 

"  I'll  relieve  you  to-night.  Both  of  you  can  go  to 
bed.  I'll  stand  guard." 

"  Any  danger  that  you'll  drop  off  to  sleep?  "  asked 
the  settler. 

"  None  whatever,"  the  young  man  assured  him. 

"  All  right.  Guess  we'll  let  you  try  it  awhile. 
Whenever  you  get  sleepy,  wake  one  of  us.  Tim  will 
make  his  bed  here  by  the  fire,  and  I'll  be  in  the  next 
room.  And  you'd  better  wake  him  or  me  if  anything 
suspicious  occurs.  The  dogs  will  let  you  know  if 
there's  anybody  around.  But  we've  lost  so  much  sleep 
we  may  not  hear  'em.  Better  take  that  shot-gun  when 
you  go  out.  Big  load  of  buckshot  in  each  barrel." 

He  disappeared  through  the  partition-door.  Jess 
sat  gazing  into  the  fire,  and  sometimes  casting  admiring 
side-glances  at  Sally  Adams  as  she  walked  back  and 
forth  at  her  wheel,  deftly  holding  the  thread  with  one 
hand  and  making  the  wheel  hum  and  the  spindle  sing 
with  the  other.  Tim  soon  came  in,  carrying  a  buffalo- 
rug  and  some  blankets.  Throwing  the  rug  on  the 
floor,  he  lay  down  on  it,  with  his  head  nearest  the  fire, 
pulled  the  blankets  over  him,  and  was  soon  breathing 
heavily. 

"  I  tell  Tim  he'll  bake  his  brains  if  he  doesn't  quit 


DEFTLY  HOLDING  THE  THREAD  WITH  ONE  HAND. 


ON  GUARD  FOR  REDSKINS  17 

sleeping  with  his  head  to  the  fire,"  laughed  the  girl, 
letting  her  wheel  run  slowly. 

"  That's  a  habit  with  the  black  race,"  replied  Jess, 
smiling.  Soon  he  added:  "You  seem  to  be  pretty 
busy." 

"  I  am.  We  have  a  piece  of  cloth  in  the  loom  that 
we  need,  and  not  filling  enough  to  finish  it.  I'm  usually 
busy,  though.  I  like  to  work.  It's  about  all  there  is 
to  do  out  here." 

Then,  after  adjusting  her  spindle,  she  went  on : 

"  I  came  out  three  years  ago  from  Kentucky,  just 
after  I'd  left  school.  It  seems  a  long  time,  and  if  I 
hadn't  had  plenty  of  work  to  keep  me  busy,  it  would 
have  seemed  longer,  I've  no  doubt.  Are  you  going 
far?" 

"  I  don't  know.  As  far  as  Austin,  perhaps.  I  want 
to  find  work  as  a  cowboy.  Think  I'd  like  that.  I'm 
fond  of  riding.  Later  I  may  go  to  California,  if  I 
run  across  a  good  chance.  I've  been  wanting  to  go  for 
a  year  or  two." 

"Have  you?  I've  got  a  brother  out  there  —  my 
only  very  near  living  relative.  He  went  out  in  '49,  just 
after  gold  was  discovered,  and  while  I  was  in  school. 
We  hear  from  him  two  or  three  times  a  year.  He  has 
made  some  money,  but  not  enough  to  return  home  with. 
As  soon  as  he  makes  a  strike  he's  coming  by  for  me,  and 
we'll  go  back  to  Kentucky  to  live.  I  hope  it  won't  be 
long.  We  heard  from  him  only  about  two  weeks  ago 
—  very  unexpectedly,  too.  And,  by  the  way,  you 
might  be  interested  in  that." 


1 8  SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

Jess  looked  at  her  quest! oningly. 

'*  Three  Californians  camped  out  there  in  the  woods 
for  a  few  days.  They'd  made  a  strike  together,  and 
cleaned  up  several  thousand  dollars  apiece;  and  they've 
come  to  Texas  to  buy  cattle.  They're  going  to  take  a 
big  drove  through  to  California.  Cattle  are  very 
cheap  here,  but  very  high  out  there,  and  they're  expect 
ing  to  make  a  barrel  of  money.  They  wanted  drivers, 
and  they  were  willing  to  pay  good  wages  to  good  men, 
they  said." 

Jess  sprang  up  eagerly.  "  That  would  just  suit 
me !  "  he  exclaimed.  "  Where  did  they  go?  " 

"  Down  toward  Little  River,  between  here  and  Aus 
tin.  They  were  told  they  could  buy  all  the  steers  they 
wanted  down  there." 

"  I  must  overtake  them.  That's  on  my  road  any 
how.  What  kind  of  an  outfit  did  they  have?  " 

"  They  were  on  horseback  themselves,  but  they  had 
a  wagon,  three  yoke  of  oxen  and  a  driver.  The  driver 
was  a  cook  too,  but  they  took  most  of  their  meals  with 
us  while  they  were  here.  As  it  happened,  they  had 
all  known  my  brother  out  there,  and  naturally  we  were 
very  glad  to  have  them  with  us.  One  of  them,  Mr. 
Gregory,  had  been  on  a  prospecting  trip  with  my 
brother.  But  that  was  two  years  ago." 

"  Had  they  always  lived  in  California?  " 

"  No.  Mr.  Burgess  went  out  from  Illinois,  and  Mr. 
Gregory  from  Missouri.  Mr.  Johnson  —  I've  forgot 
ten  where  he  was  from.  He  spoke  of  having  lived 
in  several  different  States.  They're  all  nice  men,  or 


ON  GUARD  FOR  REDSKINS  19 

seem  to  be;  and  they're  all  men  of  good  education. 
Mr.  Gregory  is  especially  pleasant.  He's  a  college 
graduate,  and  has  been  admitted  to  the  bar.  But 
when  the  gold  excitement  broke  out,  he  swapped  his 
law-books  for  a  pick  and  a  shovel,  as  he  describes  it, 
and  made  for  the  Pacific  coast.  If  you  find  the  party, 
please  tell  them  I  sent  you." 

"  I'll  not  forget  to  do  that,"  Jess  assured  her. 

This  was  interesting  news  that  he  had  just  heard, 
and  he  asked  many  questions  about  the  three  cattle- 
buyers.  And  long  after  the  girl  had  stopped  the 
wheel,  turning  its  spindle-point  to  the  wall,  and  gone 
to  another  cabin  to  sleep,  he  sat  gazing  into  the  fire 
and  thinking  over  the  wonderful  trip  he  was  already 
hoping  to  take. 

Hour  after  hour  stole  by.  The  wakeful  dogs  out 
side  barked  now  and  then,  at  nothing  in  particular. 
Every  time  he  felt  himself  growing  drowsy,  Jess  sprang 
up,  took  down  a  gun,  and  went  out  for  a  few  minutes. 
After  strolling  around  the  cabins,  and  visiting  both  his 
pony  and  the  horse-pen,  he  would  return  indoors  and 
sit  by  the  fire  again. 

But  the  whole  night  was  not  to  pass  so  uneventfully. 

At  length  the  dogs  began  to  bark,  loudly  and  fiercely 
now.  Jess  armed  himself  and  hurried  out  to  learn 
what  was  the  matter.  They  were  barking  toward  the 
woods.  But  what  they  saw  or  heard  could  only  be 
guessed;  for  he  himself,  though  he  listened  long  and 
intently,  failed  to  detect  any  suspicious  sound. 

Finally,  as  the  dogs  kept  up  their  ravings,  he  de- 


20  SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

cided  to  go  in  and  arouse  the  negro.  Tim  was  very 
hard  to  wake.  But  when  once  he  knew  what  was 
wanted,  he  sprang  up  eagerly  and  reached  for  his  gun. 
Together  the  young  white  man  and  the  slave  passed 
out  and  stole  cautiously  about  the  premises.  They 
made  a  circuit  of  the  horse-pen,  and  stopped  by  some 
stables  to  listen. 

"  Dey's  somebody  close  aroun'  someYs,  sho's  you 
bawn;  but  I  cain't  heah  nuffin,"  Tim  finally  said. 
"  Reckon  maybe  de  dawgs  smells  'im." 


CHAPTER  II 

A  DANGEROUS  SNAPPING  HOG 

AFTER  a  time  the  dogs  grew  quiet,  and  the  two  men 
went  back  to  the  fire.  For  an  hour  they  sat  talking. 
Tim  was  telling  of  the  troubles  they  had  had  with  the 
Comanches  during  the  five  years  since  his  master  had 
settled  here.  When  at  length  the  black  man  grew 
silent  and  began  to  nod,  Jess  told  him  to  lie  down  and 
go  to  sleep  again.  And  he  did. 

Hour  after  hour  crept  by,  and  the  fire  burned  down 
to  a  bed  of  coals.  Jess  put  on  more  wood,  then  tilted 
his  rawhide-bottomed  chair  back  against  the  wall  and 
fell  into  a  doze.  How  long  he  sat  there  he  did  not 
know,  but  he  was  aroused  by  a  furious  outburst  on  the 
part  of  the  dogs.  Springing  up,  he  seized  a  gun  and 
started  out  to  investigate. 

But  just  then  Adams,  who  had  been  awakened  by 
the  frightful  clamor,  came  through  the  partition-door 
with  his  boots  in  his  hand. 

"  Wait  a  minute,  and  I'll  go  with  you,"  he  said  to 
Jess,  as  he  began  to  jerk  on  his  boots. 

Passing  out,  they  advanced  cautiously,  with  their 
guns  held  in  readiness  to  shoot,  toward  where  the  dogs 
had  gathered.  It  was  at  a  point  thirty  or  forty  yards 
from  the  house.  The  dogs  were  inside  the  fence,  but 
there  was  a  clump  of  bushes  in  the  fence-corner  out- 

21 


22  SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

side,  and  it  was  plain  that  whatever  they  were  barking 
at  was  among  the  bushes.  The  dogs  were  raging,  the 
horses  running  around  their  pen  and  snorting,  and  the 
whole  air  seemed  charged  with  alarm. 

Adams  and  Jess  approached  the  dogs  cautiously, 
stooping  low,  and  speaking  only  in  whispers.  When 
within  a  yard  or  two  of  the  fence  they  tried  to  peer  be 
tween  the  rails,  but  there  was  not  light  enough  to 
see  what  was  under  the  bushes.  Presently  Adams 
straightened  up  and  burst  out  laughing. 

"  Such  a  to-do  about  nothing!  "  he  exclaimed,  drop 
ping  his  gun  to  the  ground.  "  It's  only  my  old  boar. 
He's  a  savage  old  fellow;  would  rather  fight  than  run 
any  day.  Don't  you  hear  'im  snapping  his  teeth?  " 

Sure  enough,  above  the  clamor  of  the  dogs  Jess 
could  distinguish  a  peculiar  sound,  like  an  angry,  de 
fiant  boar's  tusks  clicking  together. 

Adams  drove  the  dogs  away,  scolding  them  to  si 
lence,  and  the  two  men  walked  back  to  the  house. 
The  night  was  now  far  advanced,  and  neither  of  them 
went  to  bed.  Breakfast  was  ready  at  daylight.  Af 
ter  eating,  Jess  was  taken  to  a  little  cabin  in  the  yard, 
where  he  slept  till  noon. 

As  he  was  coming  out  of  the  cabin,  Adams  met  him. 

"  We've  heard  some  news,"  the  settler  remarked. 
"  A  good-sized  band  of  redskins  was  seen  moving 
toward  the  northwest  this  morning  early,  with  a  drove 
of  stolen  horses.  So  I  guess  we're  rid  of  the  var 
mints  for  a  while,  and  can  stir  about  once  more.  And 
that's  not  all.  Come  out  here.  I  want  to  show  you 


A  DANGEROUS  SNAPPING  HOG        23 

the  tracks  of  that  hog  we  heard  snapping  his  teeth 
together  last  night." 

They  walked  over  to  the  fence,  and  the  settler 
pointed  to  some  dust  that  the  chickens  had  scratched 
up  under  the  bushes.  Two  large-sized,  peculiarly- 
shaped  prints  were  plainly  visible  in  it.  Jess  stared  at 
them. 

"What  are  they?"  he  inquired  at  length. 

"  Moccasin-tracks." 

The  young  fellow  fairly  gasped  as  he  realized  what 
this  meant. 

"  It  seems  that  the  sneaking  red  rascal  had  crawled 
up  here  for  some  purpose,  when  the  dogs  discovered 
'im,"  the  settler  was  saying.  "  While  we  were  stand 
ing  here  he  was  squatting  under  the  bushes  there,  snap 
ping  his  gun  at  us,  and  doing  his  best  to  shoot  us.  I've 
got  an  old  boar  out  in  the  woods  that  never  utters  a 
sound  when  the  dogs  get  after  him;  but  he  just  stands 
at  bay  and  pops  his  tusks  together.  I  never  would 
have  found  out  that  it  wasn't  the  boar,  I  guess;  but  I 
happened  to  tell  Tim  about  how  the  dogs  acted,  and  he 
got  suspicious  and  looked  under  the  bushes  for  signs. 
The  redskin  must  have  had  a  flint-lock  gun.  And 
either  the  flint  was  bad  or  he  had  spilt  out  his  priming 
powder.  It's  a  lucky  thing  for  us.  Even  in  the  dark 
he  couldn't  well  have  missed  both  of  us,  close  as  we 
stood  to  'im." 

Jess  was  half  dazed  as  he  reflected  how  near  one  of 
them  —  they  would  never  know  which  one  — had  come 
to  death's  door.  Their  narrow  escape  and  the  strange 


24  SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

mistake  they  had  made  were  the  sole  topics  of  conversa 
tion  at  the  dinner-table. 

After  dinner  Jess  announced  that  he  must  continue 
his  journey.  He  was  urged  to  stay  a  few  days  longer, 
or  at  least  till  next  morning;  but  his  reply  was: 

>l  The  Indians  are  gone  now,  and  it's  as  safe  to 
travel  as  it  will  be  soon.  And  I'm  eager  to  overtake 
those  Californians.  The  longer  I  wait  the  more  likely 
they'll  be  to  have  all  the  hands  they  need  before  I 
find  them." 

So  he  saddled  his  horse,  said  good-bye  to  the  hos 
pitable  settler  and  his  family,  and  mounted  and  rode 
away. 

After  a  ride  through  the  woods,  he  arrived  at  the 
Brazos.  Fording  the  stream,  he  came  upon  a  little 
collection  of  log-cabins,  which,  standing  where  an  In 
dian  village  had  stood  but  a  few  years  earlier,  had  bor 
rowed  a  name  from  the  Indians  and  was  known  as 
Waco. 

His  horse  had  manifested  signs  of  getting  tender- 
footed,  and  Jess  stopped  at  a  blacksmith  shop  to  have 
him  shod.  The  animal  was  fairly  gentle,  at  least  for 
a  Texas  horse;  but,  like  some  other  gentle  horses,  he 
resented  having  his  hoofs  rasped  and  hammered. 
Waiting  for  a  good  opportunity,  he  let  fly  with  both 
hind  legs  and  sent  the  blacksmith  rolling  and  tumbling 
twenty  feet.  Having  been  close  to  the  horse's  legs, 
the  man  was  not  particularly  hurt,  but  he  was  fairly 
bursting  with  wrath.  Back  into  the  shop  he  marched, 
savagely  knocking  the  dirt  from  his  clothes,  and  no 


A  DANGEROUS  SNAPPING  HOG        25 

amount  of  persuasion  could  induce  him  to  approach  the 
horse  again. 

So  Jess  mounted  the  unshod  animal  and  rode  on  his 
way,  carrying  with  him  the  comical  picture  of  a  puff 
ing,  red-faced,  dust-covered,  loud-swearing  little  black 
smith,  which  long  years  could  not  dim. 

Every  settler  Jess  talked  with  warned  him  to  look 
out  for  Indians;  and  he  was  constantly  on  his  guard, 
day  and  night.  Settlements  were  few  and  far  between. 
When  one  was  to  be  found,  he  stopped  for  night  at  a 
house.  And  he  was  always  warmly  welcomed  and 
kindly  treated,  without  money  and  without  price.  A 
more  hospitable  people  than  these  frontiersmen  prob 
ably  never  lived.  Indeed,  some  of  them,  weary  of 
loneliness,  would  almost  beg  him  to  stay  with  them  a 
few  days  for  company.  But  he  was  eager  to  get  on. 

Once  night  overtook  him  far  from  any  settlement. 
He  went  off  from  the  road  and  camped,  hiding  his 
camp  in  a  deep  ravine,  and  sleeping  rolled  in  his 
blanket  by  his  camp-fire. 

At  length  he  began  to  make  inquiries  for  the  Cali- 
fornians,  and  was  not  long  in  hearing  of  them. 
Changing  his  course,  he  struck  off  across  the  country 
toward  where  they  were  reported  to  be. 

One  day  at  noon  he  rode  up  to  a  camp  at  the  edge 
of  the  timber,  where  the  prairie  came  down  close  to  a 
stream  called  Little  River.  The  camp  consisted  of  a 
tent  and  a  covered  wagon.  Half  a  dozen  oxen  were 
grazing  near  by,  some  hobbled,  and  one  belled.  Sev 
eral  horses  were  staked  not  far  away.  Out  on  the 


26  SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

prairie,  perhaps  a  mile  off,  a  good-sized  herd  of  cattle 
could  be  seen  grazing,  the  herder  sitting  on  his  horse 
near  them.  Farther  down  the  valley  stood  some  high, 
strong  rail-pens. 

Jess  had  found  the  cattle-buyers'  camp.  He 
wondered  anxiously  if  he  had  come  too  late. 

There  were  only  two  men  in  the  camp,  and  the 
young  traveler  easily  recognized  both  of  them.  Miss 
Sally  Adams  had  described  them  to  him.  As  Jess 
reined  up  his  horse,  one  of  the  men  came  out,  walking 
with  a  slight  limp.  He  was  between  thirty-five  and 
forty  years  of  age,  had  a  rather  serious,  thoughtful 
face,  with  sandy  hair,  and  wore  a  short  sandy  beard. 
He  happened  to  turn  his  head,  and  Jess  noticed  that 
his  neck  was  much  scarred. 

The  two  nodded  to  each  other,  and  Jess  said: 

"Is  this  Mr.  Burgess,  from  California?" 

The  man  nodded  again.  "  What  can  I  do  for 
you?" 

"  Fve  been  told  that  you  wanted  hands  to  drive  cat 
tle.  Have  you  engaged  all  you  need?  " 

"  No,  we  haven't  —  not  half  enough."  The  man 
came  closer.  "  How  much  experience  have  you  had?  " 

u  None  at  all  as  a  cowboy,  but  I've  been  used  to 
stock  all  my  life.  I've  driven  hogs  and  sheep  and  cat 
tle  and  horses,  and  I  think  I  can  make  you  a  first-class 
hand." 

"Can  you  ride?" 

"  I've  always  been  counted  a  good  rider,"  Jess  an 
swered,  with  some  satisfaction. 


A  DANGEROUS  SNAPPING  HOG        27 

"  Are  you  hardy?     Can  you  stand  a  great  deal?  " 

"  As  much  as  the  next  man." 

Burgess  looked  the  applicant  over  critically.  "  How 
would  you  like  to  go  through  to  California  with  us?  " 

"  That  would  suit  me  all  right,  I  think.  In  fact,  I 
know  it  would." 

"  Well,  if  you  want  to  start  in  at  a  dollar  a  day  for 
a  few  days,  till  we  see  what  you  can  do,  you  may  get 
down  and  unsaddle." 

Jess  dismounted  at  once.  After  staking  out  his 
horse,  he  returned  to  the  camp,  and  the  cook  announced 
that  dinner  was  ready. 

The  cook  was  a  young  fellow,  very  fat,  with  light 
hair,  a  fair,  smooth  face,  and  colorless  eyes.  What 
his  real  name  was  Jess  never  knew.  Some  one  had  be 
stowed  upon  him  the  nickname  of  Granny,  which  he  ac 
cepted  cheerfully ;  and  Granny  he  was  always  called  by 
everybody  in  the  camp. 

While  the  three  were  eating,  Burgess  outlined  his 
plans  to  Jess : 

"  We  expect  to  buy  twenty-five  hundred  steers,  three- 
year-olds  and  up,"  he  said.  "  We  already  have  a 
thousand  head  of  them  under  herd  out  there  on  the 
prairie.  When  we  first  camped  here,  we  sent  out  word 
that  we  would  pay  eight  dollars  apiece  for  three-year- 
olds  and  ten  dollars  apiece  for  four-year-olds  and  older. 
And  several  gangs  of  cowboys  are  scouring  the  coun 
try,  delivering  beeves  to  us  as  fast  as  they  can  round 
them  up.  The  cattle  are  delivered  at  those  pens  down 
yonder.  Our  business  is  to  look  them  over,  accept 


28  SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

what  we  want,  then  put  our  road-brand  on  them,  turn 
them  into  our  herd  and  keep  them  there." 

'  What  route  do  you  expect  to  follow  to  Cali 
fornia?  "  Jess  wanted  to  know. 

Burgess  took  a  book  out  of  his  pocket,  opened  it, 
and  unfolded  a  map. 

"  We'll  drive  north  from  here  to  Fort  Gibson,  in 
the  Indian  Territory.  There  we'll  outfit  —  lay  in  our 
supplies;  several  wagon-loads  of  them.  Then  we'll 
turn  up  the  Arkansas  River  and  keep  company  with 
that  almost  to  the  mountains.  After  leaving  the  Ar 
kansas  we'll  travel  along  the  foot  of  the  Rockies. 
Somewhere  up  here  we'll  intercept  the  Overland  Trail, 
and  go  by  way  of  Fort  Laramie,  here,  and  Great  Salt 
Lake,  here." 

Jess  studied  the  map.  "  That's  a  long,  long  journey. 
And  it's  a  great  distance  out  of  the  way,  too." 

"Yes;  fifteen  hundred  or  two  thousand  miles  out 
of  the  way,  I  suppose.  But  it's  the  best  we  can  do. 
This  southern  route,  through  western  Texas  and  Ari 
zona,  is  impassable.  Few  wagon-trains  attempt  to 
travel  it.  It's  impossible  for  us.  The  Apaches  would 
be  troublesome ;  and  then  there  are  too  many  deserts  — 
long  stretches  of  waterless,  grassless  country.  The 
cattle  would  all  die  on  our  hands  before  we  covered 
half  the  distance.  This  is  a  case  where  the  longest 
way  is  the  nearest." 


CHAPTER  III 

ROUNDING   UP    LONGHORNS 

SOON  after  they  had  finished  eating,  Burgess  said : 

"  Now  we'll  saddle  up  and  go  and  relieve  the  herder, 
till  he  can  come  to  his  dinner.  Your  horse  is  tired; 
you'd  better  ride  that  gray  lariated  yonder.  He's  not 
as  gentle  as  he  might  be,  but  you  can  manage  him,  I've 
no  doubt.  Put  your  saddle-bags  and  blanket  in  the 
tent.  There  may  come  up  a  shower." 

Jess  soon  had  the  gray  bridled  and  saddled.  Then 
he  mounted.  But  just  as  he  was  throwing  his  leg 
over,  the  animal  gave  a  forward  lunge,  and  Jess  came 
down  behind  the  saddle.  At  the  second  jump  he 
bounced  up  and  came  down  in  front  of  the  saddle,  on 
the  horse's  neck.  The  next  thing  he  knew  he  was  pick 
ing  himself  up  out  of  the  grass,  three  or  four  yards 
away. 

He  was  not  hurt,  but  his  face  was  red  with  mortifica 
tion.  This  was  a  pretty  start  for  a  young  fellow  who 
had  just  declared  himself  a  good  rider.  He  glanced 
at  Burgess,  half  expecting  to  see  him  laughing.  But 
the  Californian  had  evidently  had  no  intention  of  play 
ing  a  joke  on  his  new  hand;  for  there  was  nothing  but 
surprise  on  his  grave  face.  Not  so  Granny,  the  cook. 
He  was  standing  with  his  hands  on  his  hips,  shaking 
his  fat  sides  gleefully.  Jess  caught  the  horse  again. 

29 


30  SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

-"  He  never  did  that  before  when  the  boys  got  on 
him,"  Burgess  remarked. 

"  Knows  when  he's  got  a  green  hand  to  deal  with," 
laughed  Granny. 

"  If  you  want  to  you  can  take  your  saddle  off  and 
put  it  on  the  brown  horse  yonder,"  said  Burgess. 
"  He  won't  — " 

But  Jess  was  already  climbing  the  gray  again.  He 
got  into  the  saddle  this  time,  and  stayed  there,  hang 
ing  on  tenaciously  if  not  skillfully.  After  a  minute  or 
two  of  vicious  bucking,  the  horse  gave  up  his  attempts 
to  unseat  his  rider,  and  there  was  no  further  trouble. 

"  Took  me  by  surprise  the  first  time,"  laughed  Jess, 
apologetically,  as  he  rode  back  to  where  Burgess  was 
standing. 

The  Californian  seemed  rather  pleased  at  the  out 
come  of  the  matter.  Leaving  his  horse,  he  went  into 
the  tent  and  came  out  with  a  pair  of  saddle-bags.  Jess 
wondered  why  he  was  taking  those;  and  he  wondered 
still  more  when  he  saw  Burgess  lift  them  upon  his 
horse.  Evidently  they  were  heavy.  Afterwards  he 
learned  that  they  were  heavy  with  gold  —  California 
gold  —  sixty  or  seventy  pounds  of  it.  It  was  the 
money  the  partners  were  using  to  buy  cattle. 

"  Can  one  herder  take  care  of  all  these  thousand 
steers?"  inquired  Jess,  as  he  and  Burgess  were  ap 
proaching  the  herd. 

"  Yes,  in  the  daytime.  They  don't  give  much 
trouble;  or  at  least  they  haven't  so  far.  They  soon 
learn  to  stay  together." 


ROUNDING  UP  LONGHORNS  31 

After  the  herder  had  galloped  away  toward  the 
camp,  Burgess  and  Jess  rode  slowly  around  the  steers, 
which  were  scattered  over  many  acres.  Some  of  them 
were  grazing  and  some  lying  in  the  tall  grass.  They 
were  all  large-sized  animals,  with  long  legs  and  great 
spreading  horns.  Every  one  of  them  wore  a  conspicu 
ous  new  brand  somewhere  on  his  hip  —  a  circle  with  a 
horizontal  bar  across  it.  There  were  also  some  horses 
mingled  with  the  cattle. 

'  You  rebrand  all  your  steers,  I  see,"  Jess  remarked. 

"  Yes,  every  animal  that  enters  this  herd  must  wear 
our  road-brand,  the  bar-circle,  no  matter  what  other 
brands  he  may  be  ornamented  with." 

As  soon  as  the  herder  returned,  Burgess  and  Jess 
started  back  to  camp.  But  before  they  arrived  there, 
distant  shouts  reached  their  ears.  Several  horsemen 
were  driving  a  bunch  of  cattle  up  the  valley  toward  the 
branding-pen. 

;'  The  boys  didn't  have  anything  to  do  this  morn 
ing,  so  they  went  out  on  a  round-up  of  their  own," 
Burgess  remarked.  '*  We  can  buy  steers  cheaper  by 
taking  them  on  the  range,  but  we  don't  usually  have 
time  for  that.  I  see  they're  bringing  in  about  a  hun 
dred  head.  Let's  ride  down  to  the  pen." 

They  rode  down  and  waited,  and  when  the  cattle 
came  helped  to  get  them  into  the  enclosure.  Then 
all  the  men  went  up  to  camp,  where  they  unsaddled, 
and  those  who  had  just  returned  ate  their  dinners. 

Among  the  new-comers  were  Burgess's  partners, 
Gregory  and  Johnson.  Johnson  was  a  black-haired, 


32  SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

swarthy-faced  man,  who  had  little  to  say.  But  Greg 
ory,  who  was  scarcely  thirty,  was  very  different.  He 
was  a  good-looking  fellow,  with  light-brown  hair,  a 
blonde  mustache,  and  a  frank,  open  face.  He  talked 
a  great  deal,  joking  incessantly,  and  kept  everybody 
laughing  during  the  meal. 

Afterwards  he  came  over  to  Jess,  who  was  standing 
by  the  wagon,  and  said: 

"  Burgess  tells  me  you're  thinking  of  going  through 
with  us  to  California." 

"  I  will  if  I  can  give  you  satisfaction.  I'm  pretty 
green  at  this  business."  Jess  was  recalling  his  expe 
rience  with  the  gray  horse. 

"  Oh,  don't  let  that  worry  you."  Then  coming 
closer,  Gregory  said,  confidentially:  "  The  fact  of  the 
matter  is,  we're  all  rather  green.  Ed  Simpson,  that 
tall,  red-haired  fellow  yonder,  is  the  only  first-class 
cowboy  in  the  party.  He's  a  fine  rider  and  a  good 
roper.  The  rest  of  us,  and  especially  we  three  part 
ners,  are  new  to  the  business.  But  we  can  all  learn  — 
of  course  we  can !  And  you  don't  want  to  miss  that 
trip.  It's  well  worth  the  taking  for  itself.  And  you 
don't  want  to  miss  California,  either.  It's  a  great 
country.  Every  man  has  a  chance  to  make  a  fortune 
there.  Do  you  live  around  here?  " 

Jess  explained  that  he  was  traveling,  and  told  where 
he  was  from. 

"  So  I  see.  And  how  did  you  happen  to  come  to 
us?" 

"  Why,  I  heard  of  you  away  back  yonder  beyond  the 


ROUNDING  UP  LONGHORNS  33 

Brazos.  I  stayed  all  night  with  a  settler  named  Ad 
ams,  and  they  told  me  about  you,  and  that  you  wanted 
hands." 

"  Stayed  all  night  at  Adams's,  did  you?  "  exclaimed 
Gregory,  eagerly.  "  And  how  is  the  pretty  Mor 
mon?" 

"  Who's  that?" 

"  Why,  Miss  Sally  Adams." 

"  Well,  she's  as  pretty  as  ever.  But  I  didn't  know 
she  was  a  Mormon." 

"  Yes;  they're  all  Mormons.  I  don't  know  whether 
she's  very  strong  in  the  faith  or  not;  but  her  uncle  and 
aunt  are.  Some  Mormon  missionaries  came  through 
the  country  a  year  ago  and  converted  them.  The 
family  didn't  say  much  on  the  subject  themselves;  but 
I  heard  a  lot  of  talk  about  it  over  at  that  little  town, 
Waco." 

"  Well,  Mormons  or  what  not,  they're  clever  peo 
ple,"  declared  Jess. 

"  Indeed  they  are !  And  they  don't  make  finer  girls 
than  Miss  Sally  Adams.  I  expect  to  stop  and  see  her 
again  as  we  go  back." 

The  whole  party,  except  Burgess  and  Granny,  now 
started  down  to  the  branding-pen,  some  of  them  lead 
ing  saddled  horses. 

While  one  man  kindled  a  little  fire  and  put  the  brand 
ing-iron  to  heat,  Ed  Simpson  got  into  the  pen  and 
roped  a  big  steer.  Then,  with  the  assistance  of  all 
the  other  hands,  Jess  among  them,  the  animal  was 
partly  driven  and  partly  dragged  to  one  side  of  the 


34  SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

pen,  and  tied  to  a  post.  A  rope  was  now  put  round 
his  hind  legs  and  pulled  till  he  fell  to  the  ground. 
After  the  hot  iron  had  been  applied  to  his  hip,  he  was 
untied.  As  he  bounded  up,  he  was  rushed  through 
a  gate  into  a  smaller  pen,  where  he  stood  shaking  his 
head  wrathfully.  The  chief  reason  for  putting  him 
out  was  that  it  would  not  be  safe  for  any  human  being 
to  venture  into  the  pen  with  him  for  a  while.  The 
same  process  was  gone  through  with  the  other  steers, 
each  in  turn. 

Not  all  the  cattle  in  the  big  pen  were  to  be  branded. 
Some  of  them  were  cows,  and  had  only  been  brought 
because  it  was  easier  to  drive  them  than  to  cut  them 
out.  After  such  steers  as  were  wanted  had  passed 
under  the  hot  iron,  receiving  the  bar-circle,  the  smaller 
pen  was  opened  and  they  were  driven  out  upon  the 
prairie  to  the  herd,  to  become  part  of  it.  The  cattle 
not  wanted  were  also  turned  out,  and  started  off  in 
another  direction. 

By  this  time  another  party  of  cowboys,  in  the  employ 
of  a  neighboring  ranchman,  were  approaching  with 
more  cattle.  This  drove,  too,  was  penned,  and  such 
of  them  as  the  buyers  accepted  were  branded  and 
added  to  the  big  herd. 

Late  in  the  afternoon  Jess  and  two  other  hands  went 
to  help  bring  the  herd  down  to  the  river  to  water. 
Afterwards  the  cattle  were  driven  out  upon  the  prairie 
again. 

At  dusk  began  Jess's  experience  as  a  night-herder. 
For  three  hours  he  and  an  older  hand  rode  slowly 


BRANDING    THE    STEERS. 


ROUNDING  UP  LONGHORNS  35 

around  the  cattle,  in  opposite  directions.  The  herd 
lay  quietly  in  the  grass,  and  the  watch  passed  unevent 
fully. 

The  days  that  followed  were  hard,  busy  days  for 
Jess  and  all  the  Bar-Circle  "Outfit."  When  not 
branding  steers  they  were  riding  the  range,  helping 
with  the  round-up.  One  morning  as  Jess  was  sad 
dling  his  horse,  Burgess  came  to  him  and  said: 

"  Well,  we've  all  three  decided  that  you're  one  of 
the  boys  we  want  to  take  through  with  us.  We  like 
the  way  you  grab  hold  and  push  things.  We'll  pay 
you  five  hundred  dollars  in  gold  to  make  the  trip. 
That's  on  condition  that  you  stick  to  us,  understand. 
If  you  drop  out  anywhere  on  the  way,  not  a  cent  do 
you  get.  What  do  you  say?" 

Jess  took  a  few  moments  to  consider  the  proposition, 
but  spent  them  congratulating  himself.  He  would 
have  gone  for  much  less. 

"  All  right,  Mr.  Burgess.  Your  offer  sounds  fair, 
and  I  accept  it.  You  can  count  on  me  to  see  the  thing 
through,  if  it's  possible.  And  I'll  do  my  level  best." 
So  the  matter  was  settled. 

Day  after  day  the  work  of  receiving  and  branding 
steers  went  on.  New  hands  were  hired  and  added  to 
the  force  from  time  to  time.  Steadily  the  big  herd 
out  on  the  prairie  grew  bigger,  and  steadily  Burgess's 
gold-weighted  saddle-bags  grew  lighter. 

Then  at  last,  well  on  toward  the  first  of  May,  word 
went  out  from  the  camp  that  no  more  steers  were 
wanted.  The  herd  had  been  counted,  and  found  to 


36  SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

number  a   few  more  than  twenty-five  hundred  head. 

Next  morning,  just  at  sunrise,  the  Bar-Circle  Outfit 
started  northward,  on  that  long,  roundabout  journey 
to  the  Pacific  coast.  The  cattle,  bawling  noisily,  were 
strung  out  for  a  mile  or  more;  and  on  each  side  of 
them  mounted  cowboys  were  galloping  up  and  down, 
shouting  and  cracking  their  whips.  Jess  rode  near 
the  head  of  the  line,  to  guide  the  ponderous  caravan 
in  its  course.  In  the  wake  of  the  cattle  came  the  white- 
topped  wagon,  drawn  by  three  yoke  of  oxen,  and 
driven  by  Granny  the  cook. 

As  the  sequel  proved,  the  big  drove  of  longhorns 
would  never  reach  its  intended  destination.  But  it 
would  travel  long  and  far;  and  those  who  went  with 
it,  both  owners  and  hired  hands,  would  undergo  many 
hardships  and  many  exciting,  perilous  experiences  in 
their  vain  endeavor  to  get  the  beeves  through  to  the 
land  of  gold  and  convert  them  into  nuggets* 


CHAPTER  IV 

ON  A  LONG,  LONG  TRAIL 

j  i?   •' 

IT  was  a  glorious  day,  that  first  day  on  the  march. 
They  sky  was  cloudless  and  wonderfully  blue.  The 
air,  clear  as  crystal,  was  mildly  soft  yet  bracingly  cool. 
The  sun  was  flooding  the  earth  with  his  splendor. 
And  the  groves  and  the  prairies  and  the  timber-fringed 
streams  winding  serpent-like  through  the  prairies,  were 
all  arrayed  in  the  newest,  brightest  green  of  spring. 
Great  patches  of  wild  flowers  spotted  the  landscape 
with  their  gorgeous  hues,  and  laded  the  air  with  their 
fragrance.  The  morning  was  musical  with  the  voices 
of  larks  and  other  merry  songsters. 

To  Jess  Holloway,  galloping  up  and  down  by  the 
long,  steadily  tramping  line,  it  seemed  that  he  had 
never  before  really  known  what  a  wonderful  thing  it 
was  to  live.  As  his  eyes  swept  the  great  wilderness 
of  prairies,  untouched  by  the  hand  of  man,  his  heart 
swelled  and  swelled,  and  his  pulses  bounded  like  the 
half-wild  horse  under  him.  Every  shout  he  uttered 
at  the  cattle  was  a  shout  of  exultation.  The  whole 
future  seemed  radiant  with  golden  possibilities.  Un 
known  lands,  teeming  with  unknown  wonders,  were 
beckoning  him  on,  on,  on! 

To  his  imagination  the  long,  long  trail  the  caravan 
had  started  on  stretched  before  him,  in  more  or  less 

37 


38  SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

distinct  vision,  for  thousands  of  miles.  Yonder  it 
crossed  great,  far-reaching  plains.  Farther  on  it 
wound  along  the  foot  of  a  mountain-range  whose  snow- 
hooded  peaks  wrapped  themselves  in  clouds.  Still 
farther,  and  it  was  threading  deep,  wild  canyons,  by 
roaring  streams  or  silent  lakes,  or  climbing  over  rugged 
mountain-passes.  And  then  at  last  it  came  to  an  end 
on  the  shore  of  the  great  ocean,  where  crystal  streams 
rippled  over  sands  sparkling  with  gold. 

It  was  a  splendid  picture  that  he  saw  through  the 
glamour  of  youth  and  inexperience  —  a  wonderful  pic 
ture;  far  more  pleasing,  certainly,  than  the  reality 
would  have  been.  For  in  it  appeared  no  long,  weary 
days  of  hard  riding,  and  no  long,  stormy  nights  of 
watching;  no  swollen  streams,  wide  and  dark  and  swift- 
flowing,  to  be  crossed;  no  forced  marches,  through 
clouds  of  dust,  over  waterless,  sun-parched  regions;  no 
wild  midnight  stampedes;  no  savages  lying  in  wait  for 
scalps  and  plunder.  And  it  was  better,  perhaps,  that 
those  things  were  hid  from  his  eyes. 

The  owners  of  the  drove,  being  still  short  of  hands 
for  the  trip,  had  hired  several  cowboys  to  go  with 
them  for  a  day  or  two,  till  the  cattle  had  reached  a 
well-traveled  road  and  had  learned  to  drive.  But  even 
with  these  Jess  had  to  look  after  a  few  hundred  yards 
of  steers  on  his  side.  Back  and  forth  he  dashed,  with 
the  jangle  of  spurs,  cracking  his  whip  over  the  lag 
gards,  lashing  into  line  those  that  tried  to  drop  out, 
and  shouting  his  cheerful  "  Hu-y !  hu-y !  hu-u-y !  hup ! 
hup !  "  at  the  whole  drove.  Sometimes  the  leaders, 


AWAY   JESS    WOULD    DASH    AFTER   HIM. 


ON  A  LONG,  LONG  TRAIL  39 

tempted  by  the  rich  pasturage,  would  turn  aside  to 
graze,  and  he  must  spur  to  the  front  to  push  them  back 
into  the  road. 

Every  now  and  then  a  big  steer,  deciding  that  he 
was  getting  altogether  too  far  from  home,  would  break 
out  of  the  drove  and  start  off  across  the  prairie  at 
the  top  of  his  speed.  Away  Jess  would  dash  after 
him.  The  steer  could  run  well,  but  the  horse  could 
run  faster.  After  a  race  of  a  few  hundred  yards,  the 
big  longhorn  would  be  headed  off  and  turned  back. 
Soon  he  would  be  making  for  the  drove  as  fast  as  he 
had  left  it,  with  the  cowboy's  lash  stinging  his  hams 
at  every  jump  to  teach  him  the  folly  of  such  conduct. 

Once  during  the  forenoon  a  big  black,  surly-looking 
brute,  at  the  edge  of  the  drove,  suddenly  made  a 
lunge  at  Jess's  horse.  The  mustang,  seeing  his  danger, 
gave  a  terrific  bound  that  nearly  unseated  his  rider, 
and  even  then  barely  escaped  being  disemboweled  by 
those  great  horns! 

Jess  wheeled  angrily,  six-shooter  in  hand.  But  be 
thinking  himself,  he  exchanged  the  weapon  for  his 
whip ;  and  not  till  the  black  fellow  had  dived  deep  into 
the  drove  did  he  elude  the  fury  of  that  biting  lash. 

"That's  a  wicked  beast!"  called  out  Ed  Simp 
son,  who  had  witnessed  the  attack  from  the  opposite 
side  of  the  drove.  "  He  lunged  at  me  not  half  an 
hour  ago.  I  tried  to  split  his  hide.  We'll  remember 
him  when  we  need  fresh  beef." 

Other  cowboys  were  scattered  along  the  line,  on 
both  sides,  at  intervals  of  a  few  hundred  yards.  And 


40  SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

very  busy  every  one  of  them  was  kept  this  first  morn 
ing.  Of  the  three  partners,  Gregory  and  Johnson  did 
their  full  share  of  hard  work,  galloping  here  and  there, 
and  chasing  runaway  steers  as  recklessly  as  did  any  of 
their  hands.  Burgess,  mounted  on  a  big  brown  horse, 
rode  at  the  rear  end  of  the  line,  and  also  assisted  with 
the  driving.  But  all  the  fast  riding  he  left  to  others. 

The  chief  reason  for  this  was  that  those  gold- 
weighted  saddle-bags,  which  seldom  got  out  of  his 
reach,  were  fastened  behind  his  saddle.  They  had 
been  greatly  lightened  to  pay  for  the  big  drove  of 
beeves,  but  were  still  heavy  enough  to  be  very  valu 
able. 

Many  interested  glances  were  cast  toward  that  pair 
of  leather  bags;  and  among  the  hands  no  little  specu 
lation  was  indulged  in,  privately,  as  to  how  much  gold 
they  really  contained.  Several,  with  vague  ideas  of 
such  things,  insisted  that  there  must  be  a  fabulous  sum 
in  them  —  a  hundred  or  two  hundred  thousand  dol 
lars.  But  Jess,  who  had  handed  them  up  to  Burgess, 
guessed  that  they  still  contained  six  or  eight,  or  pos 
sibly  ten,  thousand  dollars.  And  in  addition  to  this 
sum,  he  afterwards  learned  that  each  of  the  partners 
carried  a  thousand  or  two  in  gold  belted  around  him, 
under  his  clothes. 

The  cattle,  restless  from  having  been  kept  under 
herd,  traveled  at  a  brisk  gait;  and  when  stopped  for 
noon  they  were  a  dozen  miles  and  more  from  the  camp 
on  Little  River.  Some  of  them  had  given  much 
trouble  with  their  repeated  attempts  to  escape,  and 


ON  A  LONG,  LONG  TRAIL  41 

had  had  to  be  watched  constantly.  But  none  had 
actually  got  away;  and  even  the  worst  soon  learned  to 
accept  the  inevitable.  After  that  they  tramped  on 
steadily. 

The  halt  for  noon  lasted  two  hours.  While  the 
cattle  were  resting  and  grazing,  Granny  prepared  din 
ner,  and  the  hungry  cowboys  ate  it.  The  tired  horses 
had  already  been  turned  loose,  and  before  the  time 
for  taking  up  the  march  again  fresh  ones  were  caught 
and  saddled.  All  the  loose  horses,  of  which  there 
were  a  hundred  and  more,  were  driven  with  the  cattle. 

Then  came  the  afternoon  drive,  lasting  till  the  sun 
was  only  an  hour  or  two  above  the  western  horizon. 
Now  a  stop  was  made  for  the  night.  By  the  time 
darkness  had  obscured  the  prairie,  the  cattle  had 
grazed  their  fill  of  the  abundant  grass,  and  were  ready 
to  lie  down  in  it.  Unless  disturbed,  they  would  lie 
quietly  until  morning. 

It  was  a  jaded,  sweat-wet  lot  of  horses  that  were 
turned  loose  to  graze  at  the  end  of  that  afternoon 
drive;  and  it  was  a  tired,  hungry  lot  of  cowboys  that 
threw  themselves  down  on  the  grass,  near  the  camp- 
fire,  to  rest  while  Granny  was  preparing  supper.  The 
day  had  been  a  trying  one  for  everybody. 

Even  the  fat,  cheerful  Granny  was  grumbling  aloud 
as  he  trudged  back  and  forth  between  the  fire  and  the 
wagon.  Some  one  had  been  joking  about  their  camp- 
fare. 

"  Don't  see  how  you  could  expect  a  feller  to  wrastle 
with  three  yoke  of  half-wild  oxens  all  day  long,  and 


42  SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

then  do  a  decent  job  of  cookin'  at  night,"  retorted  the 
cook. 

"  That's  right,  Granny,"  spoke  up  Burgess.  "  As 
I've  told  you,  you  shall  be  relieved  of  your  ox-driving 
the  first  minute  I  can  find  a  suitable  man  for  the  wagon. 
I'm  looking  out  for  one  all  the  time.  Until  I  do  find  a 
wagon-driver,  you'll  have  to  do  the  best  you  can." 

"  If  I  hadn't  been  doin'  anything  but  gallop  around 
on  a  horse  all  day,  I  wouldn't  know  what  tired  was," 
went  on  Granny,  who,  though  he  had  hired  as  a  cook, 
had  well-known  ambitions  toward  becoming  a  cowboy. 

"  But  the  horse  would  have  a  broken  back,"  spoke 
up  Ed  Simpson. 

"  Of  course !  "  put  in  Gregory.  "  We  haven't  an 
animal  in  the  herd  that  can  carry  more  than  half  a 
ton."  This  in  allusion  to  Granny's  weight. 

These  were  but  the  opening  shots  preceding  a  volley 
of  jokes  and  gibes.  For  the  fat  cook's  aspirations 
toward  cowboyhood  were  the  source  of  endless  amuse 
ment  in  the  camp.  But  little  cared  the  complacent 
Granny,  who  went  about  his  business  serenely  undis 
turbed  by  anything  said.  Sometimes  he  answered  and 
sometimes  merely  ignored  his  tormentors.  And  not 
for  a  moment  did  he  put  aside  his  ambition  to  become 
a  cowboy. 

There  was  less  joking  than  usual  to-night,  for  all 
but  the  hardiest  hands  were  too  tired  to  joke.  Sup 
per  was  eaten  at  dusk,  and  not  long  afterwards  the 
whole  party  sought  their  blankets.  Jess,  as  unwearied, 
apparently,  as  he  had  been  in  the  morning,  was  the  last 


ON  A  LONG,  LONG  TRAIL  43 

to  go  to  bed.  And  he  would  have  remained  up  longer 
if  there  had  been  anybody  left  to  talk  to. 

At  midnight  he  was  awakened  for  his  turn  at  night- 
herding.  His  horse  was  staked  not  far  away,  and  he 
had  soon  saddled  and  mounted  and  begun  his  two 
hours'  ride.  There  was  another  man  on  duty  at  the 
same  time,  and  they  rode  slowly  round  and  round  the 
herd,  not  together,  but  in  opposite  directions.  It  was 
a  still,  clear  night,  rather  chilly,  and  lighted  only  by 
the  stars. 

The  cattle  were  scattered  over  many  acres,  and^very 
steer  of  the  twenty-five  hundred  seemed  to  be  lying  in 
the  grass.  The  horses,  which  were  driven  with  the 
cattle  during  the  day,  had  gone  off  to  themselves  and 
were  still  grazing.  They  would  stay  together;  and  as 
those  that  had  been  ridden  were  too  tired  to  travel  far, 
there  was  little  need  to  watch  them. 

Round  and  round  the  silent,  cud-chewing  herd  of 
longhorns  rode  the  two  cowboys,  keeping  scarcely  a 
dozen  yards  from  the  outermost  steers.  Sometimes 
they  whistled  and  sometimes  they  sang.  Twice  on 
every  round  they  met  and  passed  each  other.  Us 
ually  they  stopped  to  exchange  a  few  words. 

"  Well,  everything  seems  to  be  all  right  so  far,"  Jess 
remarked  at  one  of  these  meetings,  when  their  watch 
was  nearly  ended.  "  Guess  there's  no  danger  of  a 
stampede  to-night." 

u  No  telling,  no  telling,"  replied  the  other  herder, 
one  of  the  temporary  hands,  and  an  experienced  cow 
boy.  "  A  drove  of  Texas  steers  at  night  is  worse  than 


44  SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

a  powder-barrel.  Only  one  thing  will  set  off  powder 
—  fire.  Keep  that  away,  and  powder  is  as  harmless 
as  dirt.  But  anything,  or  nothing  at  all,  can  set  off 
a  lot  of  longhorns.  You  never  know  what  minute 
they'll  be  up  and  gone.  The  only  safe  way  is  to  take 
it  for  granted  they're  bound  to  go,  and  be  ready  for 
'em  all  the  time." 

The  wisdom  of  this  advice  was  impressed  upon  Jess 
very  soon  afterwards.  He  and  the  other  herder  con 
tinued  their  rounds;  but  scarcely  were  they  out  of  sight 
of  each  other  when,  with  a  simultaneous  movement  as 
it  seemed,  every  steer  in  the  herd  bounded  to  his  feet. 

Jess's  horse  gave  a  frightened  jump  and  tried  to  run. 
But,  to  the  young  cowboy's  surprise,  the  cattle  stood 
in  their  tracks.  He  gripped  his  bridle-rein  and  waited, 
thinking  that  a  genuine  stampede  was  on.  Soon  the 
other  herder  began  to  sing,  and  Jess  himself,  acting 
on  the  suggestion,  fell  to  whistling  a  cheerful  air. 

Within  a  few  minutes  some  of  the  steers  were  drop 
ping  down ;  and  by  the  time  Jess  and  his  fellow-herder 
had  been  relieved  by  the  next  watch,  all  the  cattle  were 
lying  quietly  in  the  grass  again. 

Soon  after  daylight  the  steers  got  up  and  began  to 
graze;  and  they  kept  grazing  till  between  eight  and 
nine  o'clock.  Then  commenced  the  day's  march. 

The  cattle  were  now  becoming  accustomed  to  the 
new  order  of  things,  and  gave  far  less  trouble  than  at 
first.  When  night  came,  it  was  decided  that  the  tem 
porary  hands  could  be  spared  as  well  now  as  later, 
and  next  morning  they  all  took  the  back  trail. 


ON  A  LONG,  LONG  TRAIL  45 

This  left  fewer  than  a  dozen  drivers  to  look  after 
the  twenty-five  hundred  steers  —  an  entirely  inad 
equate  force,  especially  in  bad  weather.  The  partners 
were  making  constant  inquiries  for  hands  to  go  through 
to  California,  and  were  offering  good  wages  for  the 
right  men.  There  were  applicants  at  nearly  every  set 
tlement;  but  most  of  them  were  so  inexperienced,  or 
their  appearance  gave  so  little  promise  of  their  being 
able  to  make  a  long,  hard  trip,  that  but  one  or  two 
had  been  engaged  so  far,  and  those  only  on  trial. 

Before  the  temporary  hands  turned  back,  Ed  Simp 
son  had  been  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  drove  from 
Jess,  to  help  guide  the  cattle.  But  now  Ed  fell  to  the 
rear,  leaving  Jess  to  look  after  the  whole  forward  end 
of  the  line.  If  the  leaders  took  it  into  their  heads  to 
turn  out  on  the  other  side  of  the  road,  he  must  gallop 
entirely  around  them  to  push  them  back.  As  he  had 
a  few  hundred  yards  of  the  line  to  look  after,  this  re 
quired  no  end  of  hard  riding.  Indeed,  he  was  always 
going,  and  always  going  at  a  gallop.  In  no  other  way 
could  he  keep  the  cattle  in  line  and  in  the  road. 

By  the  middle  of  the  forenoon  drive  his  horse  was 
much  jaded,  and  he  had  to  ride  back  and  change  his 
saddle  to  a  fresh  one.  So  he  did  at  noon,  and  so  in 
the  middle  of  the  afternoon.  He  also  rode  still 
another  horse  while  doing  herd-duty  at  night. 

The  weather  continued  fine  on  this  third  day  of  the 
drive,  and  the  cattle  were  fairly  well  behaved,  at  least 
for  longhorns.  But  even  then  the  riders  had  a  hard 
day  of  it.  When  the  afternoon  drive  was  ended,  and 


46  SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

the  steers  had  been  permitted  to  scatter  over  the 
prairie  to  graze,  most  of  the  hands  and  the  three  part 
ners  were  glad  to  come  to  the  camp  and  throw  them 
selves  down  on  the  grass  to  rest.  Ed  Simpson,  Jess 
and  Granny  were  the  only  cheerful  members  of  the 
party. 

The  days  that  followed  were  but  repetitions  of  this 
day.  The  brunt  of  the  hard  work  fell  on  Ed  Simpson 
and  Jess,  not  because  they  were  more  willing  than  the 
others,  but  because  they  could  stand  more.  Back  and 
forth  and  here  and  there  and  everywhere  they  dashed, 
never  sparing  their  horses.  Four  times  every  day, 
and  sometimes  oftener,  they  shifted  their  saddles  to 
fresh  mounts. 

All  the  horses  were  hardy,  and  most  of  them  were 
half-wild  fellows,  constantly  on  the  alert  for  an  oppor 
tunity  to  break  their  riders'  necks.  Very  seldom  did 
one  of  them  suffer  himself  to  be  mounted  without  more 
or  less  bucking.  Jess  had  got  used  to  this  and  man 
aged  to  keep  his  seat  somehow.  Ed  Simpson,  who 
was  ten  years  older  than  Jess,  and  had  taken  a  great 
liking  to  him,  gave  him  many  useful  suggestions. 

"Limber  up  there,  boy!  Limber!  limber!  limber 
as  a  rag!  "  he  shouted  one  morning,  as  he  caught  sight 
of  Jess  sitting  stiff  as  a  poker  on  a  bucking  mustang. 
"  Every  time  he  jumps,  let  yourself  flop !  He'll  break 
your  back  that  way!  " 

This  advice  seemed  hard  to  take  at  first,  with  his 
nerves  as  tense  as  they  were;  but  Jess  tried  it,  and  was 
delighted  to  find  it  much  easier.  Relaxing  at  the  right 


ON  A  LONG,  LONG  TRAIL  47 

moment,  he  soon  learned,  was  the  secret  of  riding 
wild  horses.  From  this  time  on  he  ceased  to  dread 
those  terrific  buckings. 

Ed  also  gave  Jess  much  good  advice  about  the  ways 
and  weaknesses  of  cattle,  taught  him  how  to  throw  a 
rope,  and  spared  no  pains  to  make  a  first-class  cowboy 
of  him.  And  Jess  was  not  only  sensible  enough  to 
take  the  advice,  but  he  learned  so  fast  that  he  was 
soon  able  to  equal  his  teacher.  In  endurance  he  had 
proved  himself  Ed's  equal  from  the  start;  and  nobody 
else  in  the  party  could  approach  either  of  them. 

All  the  other  hands  and  the  three  owners  admitted 
that  they  were  worn  out  by  the  time  the  drove  stopped 
for  night.  But  Ed  scoffed  at  the  idea  of  being  tired, 
and  Jess  showed  not  the  slightest  signs  of  it.  In  fact, 
he  now  took  Phil  Gregory's  place  in  keeping  up  the 
life  of  the  camp.  Gregory  declared  that  he  was  past 
making  a  joke,  and  nearly  past  laughing  at  one.  The 
hard  riding  was  telling  on  him. 


CHAPTER  V 

A  MORMON  MIGRATION  TO  GREAT  SALT  LAKE 

ONE  morning  Burgess  awoke  just  at  daylight.  Be 
sides  the  herders  with  the  cattle,  but  two  people  were 
up:  Granny,  busy  with  breakfast,  and  Jess,  who  was 
throwing  a  rope  at  a  stump.  He  was  ambitious  to 
become  an  expert  roper. 

"  Jess,  do  you  never  get  tired  ?"  asked  Burgess. 
*  You  were  still  up  when  I  went  to  bed,  you  were  up 
two  hours  with  the  cattle,  and  now  you  are  up  again." 

Jess  hurled  his  rope  and  watched  the  noose  settle 
over  the  top  of  the  stump,  then  said: 

"  Mr.  Burgess,  to  tell  you  the  truth,  I  never  was 
very  tired  but  once  in  my  life,  and  that  was  when  I  was 
a  chunk  of  a  boy."  He  went  to  take  his  rope  off  the 
stump. 

"  I  believe  it,"  growled  Johnson,  who  slept  with 
Burgess.  "  The  boy's  made  of  iron  and  rawhide. 
He's  just  a  walking  bundle  of  git-up-and-git.  He  can 
run  us  all  to  death  and  then  joke  about  it.  He  rode 
down  six  horses  yesterday  —  rode  a  hundred  miles  if 
he  rode  an  inch.  And  now  just  look  at  him !  " 

Jess  had  released  his  rope  and  was  coming  back  for 
another  throw. 

"  How  long  do  you  sleep,  Jess?"  Burgess  wanted 
to  know. 

u  About  five   hours.     I   can   get   along  with   four. 


A  MORMON  MIGRATION  49 

After  sleeping  five  hours  I  get  restless  and  want  to 
crawl  out." 

"  Five  hours !  No  wonder  you  can  go  late  and 
early.  What  kind  of  work  have  you  been  used  to, 
that  makes  you  so  hardy?  " 

"  All  kinds.  We  worked  back  in  Tennessee. 
Hardest  job  I  ever  ran  across,  though,  was  a  log-roll 
ing.  I  used  to  attend  so  many  of  them  every  winter. 
That  was  work  —  sure-enough  work.  After  holding 
a  handspike  and  lifting  at  big  logs  all  day,  I  own  up 
I  used  to  feel  a  little  jaded  by  night.  This  driving 
cattle  is  just  play  to  that."  He  went  on  with  his  rope- 
throwing. 

"  Lucky  weVe  got  two  such  fellows  as  Jess  and  Ed, 
till  we  find  some  more  hands,"  said  Johnson.  "  If 
I  did  as  much  riding  as  either  of  them,  you'd  have  to 
haul  me  next  day.  This  is  a  vastly  bigger  undertak 
ing  than  I  had  any  thought  of  when  we  started  into  it, 
though  I  knew  it  wouldn't  be  easy.  And  the  worst 
is  still  to  come." 

"  That's  right,  Jeddy,"  answered  Burgess.  "  All  of 
us  will  have  our  endurance  stretched  to  the  breaking- 
point  before  we  reach  our  destination.  WeVe  got  a 
big,  up-hill  job  ahead  of  us.  There's  no  denying 
that." 

The  Bar-Circle  Outfit  was  now  nearing  the  Brazos. 
One  forenoon  the  head  of  the  long,  horned  line,  with 
Jess  Holloway  steering  it,  marched  into  the  village 
on  the  river-bank  —  the  village  that  was  destined  to 
grow  and  grow  —  Waco.  Seeing  the  little  blacksmith 


50  SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

standing  in  the  door  of  his  shop,  Jess  called  out,  above 
the  trampling  and  bawling  of  the  cattle: 

"  What  would  be  the  chance  to  get  a  hundred  and 
fifty  mustangs  shod  to-day?  " 

The  blacksmith  stared  till  he  recognized  the  cow 
boy;  then  he  shook  his  head  angrily. 

"  No,  sir!  No,  sir!  None  of  your  kind  of  horses 
for  me !  I'd  ruther  shoe  buffaloes !  "  He  dived  into 
the  shop  and  began  to  hammer  his  anvil  loudly,  spite 
fully. 

It  was  only  a  joke  —  Jess  had  not  wanted  any 
horses  shod.  And  he  was  laughing  as  he  galloped  on. 

Down  the  Brazos-bank  tramped  the  great-horned 
leaders  of  the  drove,  with  their  alert  guide  hovering 
near  them.  Into  the  water  he  plunged.  The  river 
was  somewhat  swollen,  but  still  fordable.  Once,  out 
in  the  current,  the  lead-steers  grew  bewildered  and 
headed  up  stream.  Jess  spurred  through  the  water 
till  he  got  round  them,  then  he  turned  them  back. 
Now  they  took  the  road  of  their  own  accord  and 
moved  on. 

After  Jess  himself  had  climbed  the  bank,  he  reined 
up  his  horse  and  sat  in  the  saddle,  gazing  back.  A 
winding,  moving  line,  of  all  colors  and  shades  of  color, 
but  conspicuous  chiefly  for  horns,  stretched  across  the 
river,  up  the  west  bank,  through  the  village,  and  on 
into  the  woods  beyond.  He  stood  still  and  watched  it 
till  the  driver  next  behind  him  had  plunged  into  the 
stream  below  the  cattle.  Then  Jess  wheeled  and  gal 
loped  on  to  overtake  the  head  of  the  column. 


A  MORMON  MIGRATION  51 

Some  time  afterwards  he  found  himself  passing  the 
Adams  place.  He  looked  toward  the  house,  but  saw 
nobody.  Not  even  a  dog  ran  out  to  bark.  He  won 
dered  at  this,  but  was  too  busy  keeping  the  steers  in 
line  and  guiding  them  through  the  woods  to  think 
much  about  anything  else  at  the  time.  He  had  some 
thought  of  coming  back. 

Soon  the  head  of  the  column  emerged  upon  the 
prairie.  It  was  now  time  to  noon.  Half  a  mile  be 
yond  the  edge  of  the  timber  Jess  galloped  round  the 
leaders,  reined  up  in  front  of  them,  and  turned  them 
out  of  the  road.  They  complied  willingly,  and  at  once 
scattered  over  the  prairie,  cropping  the  abundant  pas 
turage  as  they  went. 

Jess  sat  on  his  horse  and  watched  the  horned  stream 
flow  out  of  the  woods  and  spread  itself  over  the 
prairie,  far  and  wide.  One  after  another  the  other 
drivers  appeared.  Finally  the  rear  end  of  the  line 
emerged  into  view,  brought  up  by  Burgess,  with  his 
golden  saddle-bags,  and  others.  And  just  behind  them 
came  Granny  and  his  lumbering,  white-topped  wagon. 
The  wagon  stopped  at  the  edge  of  the  woods,  in  the 
shade  of  some  post-oaks. 

Jess  now  started  toward  the  camp.  On  the  way 
he  tossed  the  noosed  end  of  his  lariat  over  a  loose 
horse's  head  and  led  him  away  captive,  to  be  ready  for 
the  afternoon  drive.  After  tying  the  fresh  animal  to 
a  bush,  and  unsaddling  and  turning  loose  the  jaded 
one,  he  went  on  to  the  wagon.  All  the  other  men 
were  already  there. 


52  SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

"  Did  you  stop  and  see  the  Adamses?  "  he  inquired 
of  Gregory. 

"  No,  I  didn't.  Didn't  have  time.  But  I'm  going 
back  just  as  soon  as  I  get  my  dinner.  Want  to  go  with 
me?" 

"  Yes,  I  do.  But  we  may  not  find  them  at  home. 
I  didn't  see  a  soul  on  the  place." 

"  Neither  did  I.  But  there's  somebody  there,  I 
guess." 

Scarcely  was  dinner  over  when  Gregory  and  Jess 
brushed  their  clothes  and  started  back,  on  foot  It 
was  only  a  few  minutes'  walk. 

41  There's  the  clump  of  bushes,"  Jess  remarked, 
pointing  to  a  fence-corner,  as  they  neared  the  cabins. 
He  had  already  told  Gregory  of  his  dangerous  adven 
ture  with  the  snapping  hog. 

Entering  the  yard,  they  approached  the  largest 
cabin  and  knocked  on  its  clapboard  door.  Again  and 
again  they  knocked,  without  getting  any  response. 
Now  they  noticed  that  every  door  was  closed,  and  that 
the  whole  place  wore  a  deserted  air.  Jess  peeped  be 
tween  the  logs,  and  could  make  out  that  only  a  few  of 
the  household  goods  were  still  there. 

u  Why,  the  people  have  moved  away,"  he  said. 

"  Where  can  they  have  gone?  They  didn't  mention 
moving  to  me,"  answered  Gregory,  evidently  disap 
pointed  and  bewildered. 

"  Nor  to  me.     I  don't  understand  it." 

The  two  were  still  speculating  about  the  matter, 
when  they  noticed  a  man  coming  through  the  woods, 


A  MORMON  MIGRATION  53 

with  a  long  rifle   on  his  shoulder.     He  climbed  the 
fence  and  jumped  down  into  the  yard. 

"  You're  looking  for  Adams,  or  some  of  his  family, 
I  guess.  They're  not  here  any  more." 

"  So  we've  discovered,"  answered  Gregory. 
"  When  did  they  go,  and  where?  " 

"  They  rolled  out  last  week.  They've  left  the  coun 
try.  They  were  headed  east  when  they  started  from 
here;  but  they  expect  to  reach  Great  Salt  Lake  before 
they  stop." 

"  Oh,  I  see.  Some  Mormon  business,  eh?"  asked 
Gregory. 

"  That's  the  size  of  it.  A  Mormon  elder,  or  bishop, 
or  high  priest,  or  whatever  they  call  'im,  passed 
through  here  and  ordered  Brother  Adams  to  emigrate 
to  Utah.  And  Brother  Adams  promptly  sold  his  farm 
and  his  horses  and  his  niggers  for  just  what  he  could 
get  for  'em,  and  then  loaded  up  and  yoked  up  and 
rolled  out.  I  bought  his  place,  dirt-cheap,  and  some 
of  his  house-fixings.  Expect  to  move  over  here  in  a 
few  days." 

"  I'm  surprised,"  remarked  Jess.  "  Adams  seemed 
such  a  sensible  fellow." 

"  He  was  a  sensible  fellow  —  when  he  was  let  alone. 
He  wouldn't  talk  about  the  matter  to  any  of  us;  but 
Aunt  Car'line,  his  nigger  woman  —  he  sold  her  to  a 
man  just  above  here  —  she  says  the  Mormon  elder  got 
a  revelation  straight  from  heaven  that  Brother  Adams 
and  his  family  must  start  for  Salt  Lake  at  once,  or  risk 
losing  their  souls.  So  there  was  nothing  for  them  to 


54  SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

do  but  up  stakes  and  travel.  Aunt  Car'line  is  purty 
sharp,  and  she  thinks  there's  a  bug  under  the  chip  — 
that  the  Mormon  elder  had  his  eyes  on  Adams's  niece, 
Sally." 

Gregory  uttered  an  angry  exclamation.  "  And  so 
that's  the  way  the  wind  blows,  is  it?  "  he  said,  disgust 
edly.  "  What  kind  of  a  looking  fellow  was  the  Mor 
mon  elder?  " 

"  He  was  a  big  man,  with  a  big,  bushy  beard  and  — " 

"  And  with  eight  or  ten  wives  already!"  added 
Gregory,  wrathfully.  "  I  know  all  of  his  breed.  I've 
been  through  their  country  twice." 

"  Aunt  Car'line  might  have  imagined  some  of  that," 
remarked  the  settler,  seeing  that  Gregory  was  inter 
ested  in  the  girl.  u  I  understand  the  Mormons  are 
gathering  to  Salt  Lake  from  all  parts  of  the  world. 
Sally  didn't  want  to  go,  though,  Aunt  Car'line  says. 
The  Mormon  elder  went  off  with  'em  from'  here." 

Gregory  strode  back  and  forth  across  the  yard,  say 
ing  uncomplimentary  things  of  the  whole  Mormon 
tribe  in  general,  and  of  the  bearded  harem-makers  in 
particular. 

"  Come  on,  Jess,  and  let's  get  back  to  camp,"  he 
finally  said,  in  tones  full  of  disgust. 

"  Reckon  you  didn't  hear  about  Tim,  did  you?  "  the 
settler  called  after  them.  When  they  had  turned  he 
explained : 

"  Adams  sold  Tim,  that  nigger  man  of  his,  to  a  set 
tler  named  Evans,  across  the  river.  Then  Evans  up 
and  sold  'im  to  a  fellow  that  proposed  to  take  'im  to 


A  MORMON  MIGRATION  55 

Louisiana,  to  work  on  a  plantation.  But  none  of 
that  for  Tim !  The  only  thing  he  hates  worse  than  a 
plow  is  a  hoe.  Before  anybody  guessed  what  he  was 
up  to,  he  slipped  out  his  gun  and  ammunition  and  dis 
appeared  —  took  to  the  woods.  Nobody  has  seen  hair 
or  hide  of  'im  since." 

"  Good  for  Tim !  "  cried  Gregory,  mostly  by  way  of 
relieving  his  already  disordered  feelings. 

"  He's  a  fine  hunter,  Tim  is,"  continued  the  settler. 
"  They've  looked  high  and  low  for  'im,  but  not  a  trace 
can  they  find.  I'm  guessing  that  he's  made  tracks  for 
the  unsettled  country  to  the  northwest.  He  always 
wanted  to  go  out  there  on  a  hunt.  The  game  is  just 
swarming  out  there,  they  say  —  everything  from 
squirrels  to  buffaloes.  And  he  didn't  have  any  family, 
or  any  kinfolks  around  here,  Tim  didn't.  As  long  as 
his  ammunition  holds  out,  he  can  take  care  of  him 
self  anywhere.  That  is,  if  he  don't  run  across  some 
redskins." 

Gregory  now  inquired  what  road  Adams  had  taken. 
On  being  told,  he  and  Jess  passed  out  at  the  gate  and 
walked  on  toward  their  camp. 

"  Jess,"  Gregory  finally  said,  breaking  a  lengthy  si 
lence,  "  I  don't  mind  telling  you  that  I  was  very  much 
interested  in  that  girl." 

"  I  had  already  guessed  that,"  was  the  reply. 
"  And  she  was  interested  in  you." 

"  How  do  you  know,  Jess?  " 

"  Not  from  what  she  said,  but  from  the  way  she 
kept  talking  about  you.  I  sat  up  on  guard  after  the 


56  SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

others  had  gone  to  bed,  the  night  I  stopped  there,  and 
she  stayed  up  to  spin  —  in  the  same  room.  It  was 
then  that  she  told  me  about  your  party.  She  was  a 
fine  girl." 

"Indeed  she  was  —  indeed  she  is!  In  my  partial 
opinion,  I've  never  seen  one  that  can  approach  her, 
good  looks  and  everything  else  considered.  And  the 
very  thought  of  her  being  caught  in  that  Mormon 
elder's  net,  and  spending  her  life  in  a  Mormon  harem, 
nearly  drives  me  frantic." 

"  Maybe  it  won't  be  so  bad  as  that,  Mr.  Gregory. 
You  see  —  " 

"  Mr.  Fiddlesticks !  "  exclaimed  the  other,  impa 
tiently.  "Jess,  my  name's  Phil;  and  I'm  not  so  very 
old  —  not  thirty  yet.  Save  your  mistering  for  Bur 
gess.  He  keeps  up  the  dignity  of  the  firm.  I'm  just 
one  of  the  boys." 

"  All  right,  Phil,"  laughed  Jess.  "  But,  as  I  started 
to  say,  that  may  be  a  mistake  about  Miss  Sally  Adams 
and  that  harem  business." 

"  No,  it  isn't,  Jess.  That  black  woman  wouldn't 
have  imagined  that  kind  of  a  thing.  I  know  just  about 
what  will  happen.  As  soon  as  the  party  get  beyond 
the  reach  of  the  State  laws,  that  elder  or  bishop  or 
whatever  he  is  will  receive  one  of  his  lying  revelations 
to  the  effect  that  Sister  Sally  must  marry  him  then 
and  there,  under  penalty  of  losing  her  soul.  That's  a 
common  trick  with  those  fellows.  And  what  can  the 
girl  do  but  consent,  with  such  a  fate  as  that  hanging 
over  her?  That  is,  if  she's  deep  enough  in  the  de- 


A  MORMON  MIGRATION  57 

lusion  to  believe  their  blasphemous  lies.  And  I'm 
afraid  she  is  —  I'm  afraid  she  is." 

Jess  could  think  of  nothing  worth  saying  in  reply. 
After  a  silence  of  a  minute  or  two,  Gregory  spoke 
again : 

"  Jess,  I  wish  I  were  out  of  this  cattle  business. 
There'd  be  no  trip  to  California  for  me.  I  was 
tempted  to  drop  out  when  I  was  here  before;  and  if 
I'd  had  any  inkling  of  this  Mormon  migration,  Joe 
Burgess  and  Jeddy  Johnson  could  have  gone  on  alone. 
As  it  is,  I'm  tied  hand  and  foot.  And  I  don't  suppose 
I  shall  ever  see  that  girl  again." 

"  No,  I'm  afraid  not.  But  there  are  plenty  of 
others,"  was  the  best  consolation  Jess  could  offer. 

Gregory's  reply  was  an  impatient  gesture.  "  What 
do  I  care  about  the  others,  Jess?  "  he  demanded,  half 
irritably.  His  companion  only  smiled. 

Gregory  was  both  discouraged  and  out  of  temper  — 
needlessly  so,  too.  For,  if  he  had  known  it,  they  were 
destined  to  see  not  a  little  more  of  the  Adams  family 
before  this  journey  was  ended. 


CHAPTER  VI 

MARCHING,    MARCHING    NORTHWARD 

WHILE  Jess  and  Gregory  were  away  from  the  camp, 
three  men,  all  eager  to  reach  California,  had  applied 
for  work  as  drivers,  and  Burgess  had  accepted  them 
on  trial.  They  were  vigorous,  active  fellows,  and 
everybody  in  the  party  had  good  expectations  of  them. 
They  had  to  return  to  their  homes  to  make  some  hasty 
preparations  for  the  journey;  but  an  hour  or  two  later 
they  overtook  the  Bar-Circle  drove,  placed  what  little 
baggage  they  had  in  the  wagon,  and  helped  with  the 
rest  of  the  afternoon  drive. 

Every  man  employed  had  to  agree  to  stay  up  and 
guard  the  cattle  the  whole  of  every  rainy  or  stormy 
night,  if  called  upon.  And  the  first  test  that  Burgess 
usually  applied  to  a  new  hand  was  to  put  him  on  herd 
duty  all  night  long. 

"  The  man  that  can't  keep  going  a  day  and  a  night 
and  another  day,  without  winking  or  grumbling,  is  not 
the  man  for  this  trip,"  he  often  declared.  And  he 
was  doubtless  right. 

As  it  would  never  do  to  leave  the  cattle  in  charge 
of  untried  herders  at  night,  one  or  another  of  the  ex 
perienced  hands  had  to  stay  with  the  new  one,  to 
"  break  him  in."  This  task  usually  devolved  upon  Ed 
Simpson  or  Jess.  By  way  of  evening  things  up,  they 

58 


•MARCHING  NORTHWARD  59 

were  allowed  to  ride  in  the  wagon  and  sleep  part  of 
the  next  day,  if  they  so  desired,  and  everything  was 
going  well  with  the  drove. 

The  first  night  after  the  three  new  hands  had  joined 
the  outfit,  Ed  took  one  of  them  and  kept  him  riding 
around  the  herd  from  dusk  till  dawn.  Next  night 
Jess  did  the  same  with  another  one.  And  on  the  night 
following  Ed  took  another  turn  with  the  third  man. 
All  stood  the  test  successfully.  But  at  noon  of  the  day 
after  the  last  man's  trial,  one  of  the  three  came  to  the 
camp  and  said: 

"  Well,  Mr.  Burgess,  I've  decided  to  turn  back." 

"Why,  what's  the  matter,  Davis?  Driving  cattle 
too  hard  for  you?" 

"No,  it's  not  the  cattle;  it's  your  tarnal  mustangs 
I  can't  stand.  I'm  not  much  of  a  rider,  anyway,  and 
I've  already  been  pitched  off  four  times." 

"  Oh,  don't  let  a  little  thing  like  that  worry  you. 
That's  liable  to  happen  to  anybody.  I'm  not  a  brag 
rider  myself." 

"  Well,  I'd  like  to  go  to  California ;  but  if  I've  got 
to  be  bumped  and  jerked  and  pitched  about  every  day 
of  my  life,  till  I  don't  know  whether  my  head's  up  or 
my  heels,  Texas  is  good  enough  for  me." 

Burgess  pulled  at  his  mustache  thoughtfully. 
;<  Well,  then,  how  would  you  like  to  drive  the  wagon?  " 

"  That  would  suit  me  to  a  T." 

A  bargain  was  soon  struck,  and  Davis  took  charge 
of  the  oxen  and  wagon  at  once,  relieving  Granny  the 
cook  of  his  double  duty. 


60  SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

That  same  day,  soon  after  the  afternoon  drive  was 
ended,  Jess  went  off  from  the  camp  to  stake  out  a  horse 
he  had  just  caught,  to  be  used  for  night-herding;  and 
while  he  was  driving  down  the  stake,  a  Mexican  came 
to  him.  The  fellow  could  speak  but  little  English,  but 
Jess  finally  learned  his  history,  and  what  he  had  come 
for. 

The  Mexican  had  lived  in  California,  while  the 
country  was  still  a  part  of  Mexico.  But  he  had  got 
into  debt  and  had  been  sold  into  bondage  for  a  term 
of  years.  Afterwards  he  had  been  taken  to  Mexico, 
and  brought  from  there  to  Texas,  changing  owners 
two  or  three  times  on  the  way.  He  had  still  two  years 
and  more  of  his  bondage  to  serve.  But  his  present 
owner,  another  Mexican,  had  but  little  work  for  him 
to  do,  and  was  willing  to  dispose  of  him  at  a  bargain. 
The  slave  himself  was  eager  to  return  to  California; 
and  having  learned  that  the  Bar-Circle  Outfit  was  in 
need  of  hands,  he  had  come  to  beg  the  owners  to  buy 
him,  for  the  rest  of  his  time,  and  take  him  with  them. 
He  was  willing  to  do  anything. 

Jess  asked  the  man  many  questions,  and  learned  that 
he  had  been  used  to  cattle  all  his  life.  In  California 
he  had  lived  and  worked  on  ranches  in  the  days  when 
cattle  were  raised  chiefly  for  their  hides  and  tallow. 

"  All  right;  come  with  me,"  Jess  said.  And  he  took 
the  Mexican  to  camp. 

"  Mr.  Burgess,  here's  a  man  that  wants  to  go 
through  with  us."  And  Jess  explained  what  he  had 
learned  about  the  applicant. 


MARCHING  NORTHWARD  6t 

Burgess  asked  the  Mexican  numerous  questions. 
Finally  he  turned  to  Jess. 

"  What  do  you  think  of  him?  " 

"  With  all  his  experience,  he  ought  to  make  a  use 
ful  hand." 

u  Do  you  want  to  try  him  to-night?  " 

"  Just  as  soon  as  not." 

"All  right,  then.  What's  your  name?"  He 
turned  to  the  man. 

"  Soos,"  replied  the  Mexican. 

His  real  name  was  Jesus,  which  —  pronounced  Hay- 
soos  —  is  not  uncommon  among  his  people. 

So  Jess  and  the  new  man  patrolled  the  herd  all  night 
long.  Soos  was  a  good  rider,  and  soon  proved  himself 
familiar  with  the  ways  of  cattle.  Late  in  the  night  he 
wanted  to  know  —  as  most  of  the  new  hands  did  — 
why  they  two  stayed  up  all  night,  instead  of  allowing 
the  other  cowboys  to  take  turns.  Jess  explained  that 
this  was  Burgess's  test,  and  the  Mexican  rode  on,  well 
satisfied. 

The  two  returned  to  camp  at  daylight.  When 
breakfast  was  over,  Burgess,  after  entrusting  his  pre 
cious  saddle-bags  to  Johnson,  mounted  and  rode  off, 
accompanied  by  the  Mexican  on  foot.  They  were 
going  to  call  on  Soos's  owner. 

Shortly  before  the  time  for  the  drove  to  start,  both 
came  back.  The  Mexican  was  almost  beside  himself 
with  joy.  For  Burgess  had  not  only  bought  the  re 
mainder  of  his  time  —  nearly  three  years  —  but  had 
promised  that  if  Soos  made  a  good  hand  till  the  cattle 


62  SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

were  disposed  of  in  California,  that  should  end  his 
period  of  servitude. 

The  swarthy  fellow  was  so  delighted  that  he  per 
sisted  in  telling  everybody,  in  very  bad  English,  how  he 
had  got  into  his  present  trouble.  Again  and  again  he 
assured  the  partners  that  he  would  be  faithful.  And 
it  may  be  added  here  that,  though  events  turned  out 
very  differently  from  what  he  or  any  of  them  now  ex 
pected,  he  kept  his  word. 

"  If  he  happens  to  be  a  sorry  cowboy,  we  can  make 
a  wagon-driver  of  him  after  we  get  to  Fort  Gibson," 
Burgess  remarked  to  Johnson  and  Gregory.  The 
Mexican  had  picked  up  a  rope  and  started  off  to  catch 
a  horse. 

But  Soos,  though  scarcely  as  expert  as  a  white  man 
with  the  same  experience  would  have  been,  proved  him 
self  entirely  too  useful  with  the  drove  to  be  put  on  a 
wagon. 

With  three  new  hands,  and  with  both  the  cattle  and 
the  horses  becoming  every  day  better  trained,  the 
drivers  were  not  so  hard-worked  as  at  first.  But  there 
was  still  plenty  to  do.  Not  for  a  minute  had  Granny 
given  up  his  ambition  to  become  a  cowboy.  And  no 
sooner  had  he  been  relieved  of  driving  the  wagon  than 
he  began  to  worry  Burgess. 

"  I'd  ruther  ride  horseback  anyhow,"  insisted  the 
cook.  "  And  what's  the  use  of  me  layin'  there  in  the 
wagon,  sleepin'  and  sleeping  and  gettin'  fatter  and  fat 
ter  every  day  of  my  life,  when  I  might  just  as  well  be 
doin'  somethin'  ?  " 


MARCHING  NORTHWARD  63 

This  appealed  to  Gregory  in  more  ways  than  one. 
Burgess  was  about  to  evade  the  matter,  on  some  pre 
text,  when  Gregory  said: 

"  That's  right,  Joe.  I  sympathize  with  Granny. 
Nobody  wants  to  lie  around  till  he  gets  as  big  as  a  hip 
popotamus.  We  must  find  something  for  him  to  do 
between  camps,  to  keep  him  from  accumulating  fat. 
Better  let  him  drive  cattle." 

"  But  there's  no  saddle,"  objected  Burgess. 

"  I'll  tell  you,  Joe.  I've  been  losing  a  lot  of  sleep, 
and  I'd  like  to  ride  in  the  wagon  this  morning  and 
catch  up.  So  Granny  may  use  my  saddle  till  noon." 

"  But  what  can  he  ride?"  demanded  Burgess. 
"  He's  no  horse-breaker.  He  wouldn't  climb  any 
horse  that  would  '  pitch '  with  him.  And  the  few 
gentle  horses  we've  got  have  been  ridden  too  much 
lately." 

"  What's  the  matter  with  me  throwin'  a  saddle  on 
that  mule?  "  demanded  Granny.  "  Nobody  else  rides 
him.  He's  gentle  enough  for  me." 

"  All  right.  If  you  want  to  ride  the  mule,  go 
ahead,"  agreed  Burgess.  "  He  looks  gentle  enough. 
I  guess  he  won't  dump  you  off." 

So  Granny  got  a  bridle  and  started  out.  The  mule 
was  the  only  one  in  the  outfit.  Burgess  had  bought 
him  with  a  little  drove  of  horses,  not  because  he  wanted 
him,  but  because  the  owner  insisted  upon  selling  all 
together.  Nobody  had  ridden  the  mule  as  yet,  but 
it  was  known  that  he  had  been  under  a  saddle.  The 
animal  refused  to  be  caught  with  a  bridle,  and  Jess, 


64  SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

who  had  already  mounted  his  own  horse,  went  to 
Granny's  assistance  with  his  lariat.  When  once  cap 
tured,  the  mule  submitted  meekly,  and  stood  with  a 
sleepy  look  in  his  eyes  while  the  saddle  was  being  girted 
on  him.  Then  Granny  mounted. 

As  the  more  than  two  hundred  pounds  of  cook  set 
tled  into  the  saddle,  the  mule  woke  up.  With  an 
angry  look,  as  if  saying,  "You  don't  expect  one  mule 
to  carry  all  that,  do  you?  "  he  suddenly  began  to  jump 
and  kick.  Harder  and  harder  he  jumped,  and  faster 
and  faster  he  kicked,  till  presently  he  was  engaged  in  a 
most  furious  bucking. 

Everybody  was  surprised  and  —  cowboys  are  not 
very  sympathetic  —  delighted.  Shouts  and  shrieks  of 
laughter  rang  out  while  the  cook,  looking  "  like  a  big, 
fat  toad-frog,"  as  Ed  Simpson  afterwards  declared, 
was  clinging  to  the  saddle  with  the  desperation  of  de 
spair.  That  he  stayed  on  the  mule  as  long  as  he  did  is 
a  matter  of  surprise;  for  all  the  time  he  was  going  up 
and  down,  up  and  down,  up  and  down,  hitting  the  sad 
dle  like  a  pile-driver. 

Finally  the  mule  gave  a  most  terrific  jump,  and 
Granny  went  through  the  air  and  came  down  in  a 
bunch  of  brush  and  briers.  The  mule  trotted  away, 
evidently  well  pleased  with  himself. 

Slowly  Granny  disentangled  his  clothes  and  crawled 
out  of  the  thicket.  He  was  not  hurt  —  only  scratched 
a  little  by  the  briers.  He  stood  staring  after  the  mule. 

"  Friskiest  brute  I  ever  got  astraddle  of,"  he  finally 
remarked,  solemnly. 


THE     MULE     TROTTED     AWAY     EVIDENTLY     WELL    PLEASED      WITH 
HIMSELF. 


MARCHING  NORTHWARD  65 

At  this  everybody  laughed  again,  good-naturedly  this 
time.  Jess  caught  the  mule  and  unsaddled  him,  and 
the  cook  stayed  with  the  wagon.  So  ended  his  aspira 
tions  toward  becoming  a  cowboy. 

The  cattle  were  all  getting  accustomed  to  the  road, 
and  knew  what  was  expected  of  them.  If  a  steer 
broke  out  of  the  drove  and  started  off,  the  moment  he 
discovered  that  a  cowboy  was  after  him  he  would  turn 
and  make  for  the  other  cattle  as  fast  as  he  could  run. 
The  whiplash  had  taught  him  that. 

Owing  to  the  fact  that  they  were  traveling  a  road, 
the  cattle  were  usually  stretched  out  in  a  longer,  nar 
rower  string  than  they  would  have  been  if  following  a 
broad  trail.  Naturally,  the  best  travelers  took  the 
lead,  either  being  ahead  at  the  start  or  forging  to  the 
front  soon  after  the  drove  got  under  way. 

The  leader  of  the  leaders  was  a  big  red  steer  with  a 
white  face,  known  as  Ball.  The  most  noticeable  thing 
about  him  was  the  fact  that  he  had  but  one  horn. 
Somewhere  in  his  career,  and  somehow,  the  other  one 
had  been  broken  off.  The  horn  that  remained  was  big 
enough  for  two,  however.  Indeed,  it  was  so  long  and 
so  large  that  Jess  often  wondered  how  the  steer  kept 
his  head  balanced  with  the  other  one  off. 

Ball  was  a  fine  leader.  He  usually  walked  alone, 
with  his  nearest  followers  at  his  heels.  He  was  not 
only  the  best  traveler  in  all  the  drove,  but  he  had  been 
a  work-ox  before  he  joined  the  Bar-Circle  Outfit,  and 
was  gentle  and  easily  managed.  And  he  was  also  suf 
ficiently  intelligent  to  distinguish  between  the  main- 


66  SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

traveled  road  and  a  branch  road.  Jess,  who  still 
managed  the  whole  forward  end  of  the  drove  while 
on  the  march,  often  boasted  of  his  one-horned  assist 
ant. 

"  Jess,"  remarked  Burgess  one  night,  "  there's  a  big, 
clear-toned  ox-bell  there  in  the  wagon,  that's  not  being 
used.  Why  don't  you  get  it  and  fasten  it  on  Ball?  In 
any  ordinary  weather  it  can  be  heard  at  least  a  mile, 
and  the  cattle  will  soon  learn  to  follow  it." 

"  I'll  do  that  to-morrow  morning,"  answered  Jess, 
jumping  at  the  suggestion.  "  And  then  when  —  " 

"  I  object!  "  broke  in  Gregory.  "  This  is  no  little 
drove  of  barnyard  cows,  being  driven  home  to  the  milk- 
pen.  This  is  a  high-class  oufit  of  beeves  on  the  trail 
from  Texas  to  California." 

"  High-class  outfit  or  what  not,  it  will  be  a  good 
thing  to  have  that  lead-steer  belled,"  declared  Burgess. 
And  Jess  and  Johnson  agreed  with  him. 

Gregory  and  Ed  Simpson  ridiculed  the  idea;  and 
Gregory  insisted  that  if  they  belled  the  steer  they 
should  also  hire  some  farmer's  daughter  with  a  strong 
voice  to  ride  ahead  and  call  the  cattle.  Their  oppo 
sition  was  not  serious,  however,  and  the  very  next 
morning  Jess  got  the  bell  and  buckled  its  broad  raw 
hide  collar  around  Ball's  neck. 

The  big  leader  of  the  drove  seemed  to  feel  that  an 
honor  had  been  done  him  —  that  his  leadership  had 
been  acknowledged.  And  Jess  could1  easily  imagine 
that  Ball  walked  with  a  more  majestic  stride  as  he  led 
the  long  line  day  after  day,  his  swinging  bell  sounding 


MARCHING  NORTHWARD  67 

out  its  clear  and  not  unmusical  tones  at  every  step. 

Late  one  afternoon  the  caravan  marched  across  the 
Trinity  River,  and  not  far  beyond  passed  through  a 
sorry  little  town  that  would  not  always  remain  so  sorry. 
In  fact,  though  there  was  nothing  to  foretoken  such  a 
thing  now,  it  would  one  day  become  an  important  city 
—  the  chief  city  of  Texas.  Its  name  was  Dallas. 

The  weather  was  now  well-nigh  perfect  for  travel 
ing,  and  the  big  drove  pushed  steadily  northward, 
through  a  sparsely  settled  country.  The  cattle  were 
marching  as,  fast  as  it  was  safe  to  push  them;  but  Bur 
gess,  who  understood  the  situation,  and  was  nervously 
anxious,  kept  urging  everybody  on. 

"  Boys,"  he  said  more  than  once  to  the  party  around 
the  camp-fire,  "  we've  got  thousands  of  miles  to  travel, 
and  only  a  few  months  to  travel  them  in.  It's  abso 
lutely  necessary  that  we  get  across  the  Rockies  before 
cold  weather.  If  the  winter  snows  find  us  there,  it 
means  starvation  for  the  cattle,  and  ruin,  hopeless  ruin, 
for  us." 


CHAPTER  VII 

AROUND  THE  CAMP-FIRE 

ONE  of  the  duties  that  had  to  be  attended  to  reg 
ularly  was  counting  the  cattle.  This  was  done  every 
two  or  three  days  at  the  longest,  and  oftener  if  there 
had  been  any  opportunity  for  steers  to  slip  out.  The 
counting  commonly  took  place  in  the  morning,  soon 
after  the  drove  got  under  way. 

There  were  never  less  than  two  men  to  count;  and 
though  he  disliked  the  task,  Jess  was  usually  one  of 
them.  After  the  drove  had  got  well  strung  out,  he 
and  the  other  man  would  station  themselves  on  op 
posite  sides  of  the  road,  with  their  horses  so  close 
together  that  not  more  than  four  steers  could  pass  be 
tween  them  abreast.  Then,  while  other  drivers  guided 
the  cattle  through,  the  two  men  would  count  them. 
And  besides  their  count,  Burgess  was  nearly  always 
sitting  on  his  horse  close  by,  counting  also. 

If  the  three  counts,  or  even  two  of  them,  were  close 
together  —  they  were  seldom  exactly  together  —  and 
the  number  was  not  short,  nothing  more  was  necessary. 
But  if  there  were  important  differences,  the  counters 
would  gallop  to  the  front  and  the  whole  process  would 
be  gone  over  again.  Should  steers  be  missing,  the 
drove  would  either  be  held  or  allowed  to  advance 

68 


AROUND  THE  CAMP-FIRE  69 

slowly,  till  cowboys  could  go  out  and  round  up  and 
drive  in  the  stragglers. 

Hard  though  the  life  on  the  trail  proved,  it  was 
not  without  its  pleasures.  Indeed,  to  one  as  spirited 
and  full  of  energy  as  Jess  Holloway  was,  the  very 
exertion  and  excitement  of  meeting  the  hardships  were 
far  from  unpleasant.  But  the  most  interesting  part  of 
each  day,  the  time  that  all  looked  forward  to,  was  the 
nightly  gathering  around  the  camp-fire. 

The  weather  was  still  cool  enough  to  make  the 
warmth  agreeable;  and  as  the  chill  and  gloom  of 
night  settled  down,  all  except  those  on  herd-duty  would 
assemble  around  the  glowing,  crackling  logs.  Every 
man  of  them,  armed  with  a  long,  forked  stick,  and 
provided  by  the  cook  with  a  large-sized  slice  of  beef, 
would  seat  himself  comfortably  in  front  of  the  fire  and 
proceed  to  broil  part  of  his  supper. 

With  a  dozen  or  fifteen  broiling-sticks  reaching  out 
to  the  fire,  and  a  dozen  or  fifteen  pieces  of  beef  siz 
zling  and  crisping  in  the  heat,  the  air  would  soon  be 
come  charged  with  appetizing  odors,  and  the  spirits  of 
the  tired,  hungry  men  would  rise  accordingly.  And 
from  this  time  on  till  they  fell  asleep,  the  conversation 
would  never  flag  for  a  moment. 

While  their  suppers,  consisting  of  broiled  beef  and 
the  cook's  bread  and  coffee,  were  being  eaten,  the  men 
talked  by  turns  or  all  at  once.  But  afterwards  the 
whole  circle  would  lean  back  comfortably  on  their 
elbows  or  against  their  saddles;  and  while  most  of 
them  smoked  and  listened,  one  of  their  number  would 


70  SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

relate  some  interesting  piece  of  his  own  experience. 
And  many  were  the  tales  of  stirring  adventure  told 
around  those  camp-fires.  For  nearly  all  the  party  had 
lived  adventurous  lives.  :  ri 

It  was  at  one  of  these  camp-fires  —  the  first  night 
in  the  u  Nation/'  as  the  Indian  Territory  was  called  — 
that  Jess  heard  the  story  of  how  the  three  partners 
had  "  struck  it  rich  "  in  California. 

The  drove  had  crossed  Red  River  that  afternoon, 
near  Colbert's  Ferry.  The  stream,  though  slightly 
swollen,  and  red  enough  to  deserve  its  name,  had  not 
been  swimming.  After  crossing  over  from  Texas  into 
the  Indian  Territory,  the  caravan  had  moved  out  to 
the  open  country.  The  cattle  were  now  under  herd 
on  the  prairie,  but  the  camp  was  in  the  edge  of  some 
woods.  An  unusually  large  fire  was  burning. 

Naturally  the  whole  party  were  interested  in  Cali 
fornia,  and  the  conversation  had  drifted  around  to 
gold-digging.  Phil  Gregory  was  talking. 

"  All  three  of  us,  Burgess,  Johnson  and  I,  went  out 
to  California  in  '49, "  he  said.  "  Gold  was  first  dis 
covered  at  Marshall's  Mill  in  '48,  you  remember, 
while  a  ditch  was  being  dug  for  a  mill-race.  But  the 
discovery  failed  to  get  abroad  for  some  time,  and  the 
rush  didn't  set  in  till  the  following  year.  And  what  a 
rush  that  was ! 

"  We  three  got  acquainted  on  the  road.  Burgess 
and  Johnson  both  had  some  money  when  they  arrived 
at  the  diggings,  I  believe.  But  I  was  recently  out  of 
school,  and  it  had  taken  all  I  could  rake  and  scrape 


AROUND  THE  CAMP-FIRE  71 

together  to  pay  my  expenses  from  Missouri  to  Cali 
fornia.  I  wasn't  long,  though,  in  striking  pay-dirt  — 
dirt  that  would  pan  out  several  dollars  a  day  in  gold. 
But  with  flour  at  seventy-five  dollars  a  hundred,  eggs  a 
dollar  apiece  and  butter  five  or  six  dollars  a  pound,  it 
cost  several  dollars  a  day  to  live." 

*  Yes.  And  such  appetites  as  we  did  have !  "  put  in 
Burgess.  "  While  we  were  working  there  on  the  mid 
dle  fork  of  American  River,  I  doubt  if  there  was  a  day 
when  I  couldn't  have  eaten  seventy-five  or  a  hundred 
dollars'  worth  of  provisions  if  I  could  have  afforded 


to." 


"  I  haven't  a  suspicion  as  to  how  much  it  would  have 
taken  to  satisfy  my  appetite,"  laughed  Gregory.  "  I 
ate  all  I  cared  to  pay  for,  then  stopped.  What  I  did 
eat  seemed  to  stimulate  my  hunger  rather  than  satisfy 
it.  I  was  as  ravenous  as  a  wolf  all  the  time.  But  in 
spite  of  my  hunger  I  managed  to  save  up  a  little  dust. 

"  As  soon  as  I  got  enough  ahead  to  buy  some  pro 
visions  and  other  things,  I  formed  a  partnership  with 
Jeddy  Johnson  there,  and  we  struck  off  across  the  coun 
try  prospecting.  We  stayed  out  as  long  as  there  was 
anything  to  eat;  but  finally  we  had  to  go  back  to  the 
diggings  and  work  there  again. 

"  But  that  didn't  suit  me.  As  soon  as  I  could  ac 
cumulate  some  more  dust,  I  formed  another  partner 
ship,  with  Burgess  this  time,  and  we  spent  several 
weeks  wandering  over  the  hills.  That  was  a  failure, 
too.  We  came  back  poorer  than  we  started  out. 

"  Well,   next  time  Burgess  and  Johnson  and  I  all 


72  SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

went  out  together.  We  didn't  make  much.  After 
that  I  wanted  to  try  some  new  diggings,  and  I  got  a 
new  partner,  a  young  fellow  named  Boone  Adams.  It 
was  Miss  Sally  Adams's  brother,  Jess." 

"  Yes,  she  told  me  you  and  her  brother  were  to 
gether  for  a  while,"  replied  the  cowboy. 

"  Boone  and  I  were  partners  for  a  year  and  a  half," 
Gregory  went  on.  "  We  took  several  prospecting  trips 
together,  but  we  didn't  run  across  anything  worth  men 
tioning.  At  last  he  wanted  to  go  one  way  and  I  an 
other,  and  so  we  parted. 

"  After  that  I  wandered  about  the  country  for  a 
year  and  more,  chasing  luck  from  one  mining  camp  to 
another.  Whenever  I  heard  of  n^v  diggings  opened, 
I  made  for  them  as  fast  as  I  could  travel. 

"  At  last  I  trudged  into  a  new  mining  camp,  near 
Table  Mountain,  and  found  Joe  Burgess  and  Jeddy 
Johnson  there.  They'd  been  separated  for  a  while, 
but  they'd  got  back  together  and  were  partners  again. 
Like  myself,  they  hadn't  made  anything  but  a  bare  liv 
ing.  But  they  were  working  like  beavers." 

"  We  had  to  work  like  beavers  to  make  enough  to 
exist  on,"  spoke  up  Johnson,  from  the  other  side  of  the 
fire. 

"  Yes,  it  was  hustle  or  starve  there,"  laughed  Bur 
gess. 

"  Well,  I'd  struck  a  streak  of  luck  when  I  found  my 
old  partners,"  said  Gregory.  "The  buckskin  bag  I 
kept  my  dust  in  —  my  gold  dust,  you  know  —  was  en 
tirely  empty;  and  I  was  worn  out  and  discouraged. 


AROUND  THE  CAMP-FIRE  73 

The  first  day  I  went  to  digging  there  I  had  a  strange 
feeling,  and  a  day  or  two  later  I  went  down  with  the 
fever.  And  on  my  back  I  stayed  for  six  long  weeks. 

"  If  it  hadn't  been  for  Joe  and  Jeddy,  I  should  have 
died,  I  guess ;  though  all  the  miners  were  kind  enough 
to  me.  Several  that  were  down  with  the  fever  at  the 
same  time  did  die. 

"  The  fever  itself  wasn't  my  worst  trouble,  it  seems 
to  me  now.  I  was  fearfully,  frightfully  homesick  — 
something  I  had  never  been  while  I  was  on  my  feet. 
As  I  lay  there  in  the  tent,  gazing  out  at  those  bare, 
dreary  hills,  I  longed  with  an  unutterable  longing  for 
old  Missouri.  I  felt  that  I  would  rather  die  and  be 
buried  there  in  Callaway  County,  my  birthplace,  than 
to  live  and  live  in  luxury  in  California.  And  even 
after  I  got  up  and  was  able  to  walk  about,  I'd  have 
started  home  at  once  if  I  had  been  strong  enough  to 
travel,  and  had  had  money  enough  to  pay  my  way. 
But  not  a  cent  did  I  have,  even  for  my  urgent  necessi 
ties.  In  fact,  until  I  was  able  to  swing  a  pick,  Joe 
and  Jeddy  had  to  feed  me.  And  I'm  afraid  they 
themselves  went  hungry  sometimes  to  do  it." 

"  There's  no  denying  that  you  had  a  marvelous  ap 
petite  just  about  that  time,  Phil,"  remarked  Burgess. 
"  It  took  all  the  dust  Jeddy  and  I  could  wash  out  to 
keep  the  three  of  us  in  something  to  eat.  But  you  paid 
it  all  back  later." 

"  After  my  strength  began  to  return,  I  recovered 
from  my  homesickness,"  continued  Gregory.  "  And 
soon  the  lust  of  gold  was  upon  me  again.  I  deter- 


74  SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

mined  not  to  go  home  empty-handed.  We  three  were 
eager  to  set  out  on  another  prospecting  trip;  but  we 
didn't  have  anything  to  buy  provisions  with,  till  one  of 
us  dug  into  a  little  pocket  in  the  rock  and  took  out  a 
few  hundred  dollars.  Then  we  —  " 

"  It  was  Phil  that  struck  the  pocket,"  spoke  up 
Johnson.  "  We  all  shared  what  he  took  out  of  it, 
though." 

"  After  what  had  been  going  on  for  weeks,  while  I 
was  sick  and  convalescent,  it  would  have  been  very 
strange  if  you  two  hadn't  shared  my  little  find  with 
me,  Jeddy.  And  it  was  a  lucky  find  for  all  of  us,  as 
it  happened.  We  bought  what  flour  and  bacon  we 
could  carry,  then  made  up  our  packs  and  started  out 
on  another  prospecting  tour. 

"  Well,  we  wandered  over  the  country  for  weeks. 
In  several  places  we  found  the  color  of  gold,  but  not 
enough  to  pay  us.  Finally  our  provisions  gave  out. 
But  we  had  a  good  rifle,  and  for  a  week  or  two  we 
lived  altogether  on  game.  While  two  of  us  worked, 
the  third  would  be  out  hunting.  As  we  were  now  in 
an  unfrequented  part  of  the  country,  it  was  not  hard 
to  keep  ourselves  supplied  with  meat.  But  by  and  by 
we  got  hungry  for  bread,  and  then  we  started  back  to 
the  diggings. 

"  On  the  second  morning  after  starting,  we  came 
to  a  little  creek,  and  couldn't  resist  the  temptation  to 
stop  and  use  our  pans.  We  worked  up  and  down  the 
creek  till  noon,  but  hadn't  washed  out  gold  enough  to 
encourage  us.  So  we  concluded  to  go  on.  But  we 


AROUND  THE  CAMP-FIRE  75 

camped  there  for  dinner;  and  after  dinner,  being  tired 
and  discouraged  —  it  seemed  so  little  worth  while  to 
work  —  we  lay  down  for  a  nap. 

"  As  it  happened,  I  awoke  before  the  others.  I 
felt  better  after  sleeping,  and  as  I  didn't  care  to  wake 
Jeddy  and  Joe,  I  decided  to  do  a  little  more  prospect 
ing  while  they  were  napping.  So  I  followed  up  the 
stream.  Before  I  had  gone  more  than  two  hundred 
yards,  something  yellow  caught  my  eye. 

"  No  starving  hawk  ever  pounced  upon  a  quail  more 
eagerly  than  I  pounced  upon  that  piece  of  yellow 
metal.  It  was  what  I  had  been  looking  for  and  long 
ing  to  see  for  four  years.  I  had  found  a  nugget  as 
big  as  a  hen's  egg  —  of  pure  gold. 

"  There  were  other  nuggets  lying  there  in  plain 
view,  not  so  large  as  the  first  one,  but  lovely  to  look 
at.  During  the  next  few  minutes  I  collected  more 
than  a  thousand  dollars'  worth  of  the  yellow  stuff. 

"  When  I  had  picked  up  all  that  was  in  sight,  I 
started  back  to  the  camp  with  it.  And  I  ran  every 
step  of  the  way  —  ran  from  sheer  eagerness.  Joe 
and  Jeddy  were  still  asleep  —  sleeping  the  sleep  of 
weariness  and  discouragement.  I  woke  them  by  put^ 
ting  the  cold,  wet  nuggets  against  their  faces.  You 
ought  to  have  seen  them  stare  when  they  did  wake 
and  sit  up. 

"  Well,  the  long  and  short  of  it  was  that  we  stayed 
there  nearly  two  months,  busy  with  picks  and  pans, 
digging  and  washing  gold  out  of  that  creek.  At  the 
end  of  that  time  we  had  a  hundred  and  seventy-seven 


76  SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

pounds  of  the  yellow  metal  between  us  —  a  little  more 
than  thirty-five  thousand  dollars." 

Various  remarks  and  comments  were  offered  at  the 
conclusion  of  Gregory's  narrative,  and  numerous  ques 
tions  were  asked.  Finally  Burgess  spoke : 

"  You  don't  want  to  get  the  delusion  that  mining 
gold  is  an  easy  way  to  make  money.  The  fact  of  the 
matter  is,  all  three  of  us  had  earned  every  cent  we 
washed  out  of  that  stream,  even  before  we  made  our 
strike.  I've  always  insisted  that  every  dollar  taken 
out  of  California  mines  has  cost  somebody  two  dollars. 
A  few  people  rake  in  the  prizes,  and  nine  out  of  ten, 
if  not  ninety-nine  out  of  a  hundred,  never  get  back 
the  money  they've  spent,  much  less  pay  for  their  time 
and  labor  and  hardships.  And  besides  that,  many  of 
them  go  home  with  broken  health,  or  some  other 
serious  injury.  For  instance,  I've  got  this,  and  this." 
He  laid  his  hand  on  his  left  leg,  the  one  he  limped 
with,  and  then  touched  his  scarred  neck. 

"How  did  those  come,  Mr.  Burgess?"  inquired 
Jess.  He  had  often  wondered  about  that  scar. 

"  I  went  hunting  for  a  grizzly  bear,  Jess  —  and 
found  him,"  replied  the  *49-er,  smiling  grimly.  4  The 
miracle  of  it  is  that  I  live  to  tell  it." 

Half  a  dozen  exclamations  followed  this  statement, 
and  as  many  curious  men  began  to  question  him.  But 
before  Burgess  could  reply,  a  loud  trampling  came 
from  the  prairie.  All  sprang  up,  thinking  that  a  stam 
pede  had  begun.  The  cattle  had  leaped  to  their  feet 
and  made  a  rush,  but  had  stopped  as  suddenly  as  they 


AROUND  THE  CAMP-FIRE  77 

started,  after  moving  about  twenty  yards.  There  was 
no  further  trouble.  But  by  the  time  the  excitement 
had  subsided,  the  circle  around  the  camp-fire  had  broken 
up  for  the  night,  and  the  story  of  Burgess's  encounter 
with  the  grizzly  was  not  told. 

Nor  was  it  told  for  a  good  many  nights  afterward. 
For  on  the  following  day  occurred  the  first  tragedy  of 
the  trip  —  a  tragedy  that  would  cost  the  Bar-Circle 
Outfit  their  most  expert  cowboy. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

THE  BLUE  HORSE  AND  HIS  RIDER 

WHEN  Ed  Simpson  had  first  presented  himself  to 
the  three  Californians  and  asked  for  employment,  Bur 
gess  had  inquired: 

"  Are  you  a  good  rider?" 

"  I  ride  anything  that  can  wear  a  saddle,"  was  the 
unhesitating  reply. 

"  We're  finding  it  hard  to  get  as  many  broken  cow- 
ponies  as  we  shall  need  for  the  trip;  that  is,  at  reason 
able  prices,"  Burgess  explained.  "  We're  offered  a 
bunch  of  horses  fresh  from  the  range,  at  a  bargain. 
They're  good-looking  animals  —  above  the  average, 
most  of  them.  But  several  in  the  bunch  have  never 
had  a  saddle  on.  In  case  we  buy  those,  we  shall  need 
at  least  one  hand  that  can  ride  any  horse,  no  matter 
how  wild.  If  you  can  do  that,  we'll  pay  you  extra 
wages  for  it." 

"  Guess  I'm  the  chap  you're  looking  for,"  replied 
the  weather-bronzed  cowboy.  "  If  I  don't  ride  any 
horse  you  bring  me  to  ride,  big  or  little,  young  or  old, 
wild  or  gentle,  there'll  be  nothing  coming  to  me.  No 
ride,  no  pay." 

So  an  arrangement  was  reached,  and  Ed  was  hired 
with  the  understanding  that  he  should  break  their  un- 
brokerii  horses.  By  the  time  the  drove  had  crossed 

78 


THE  BLUE  HORSE  AND  HIS  RIDER     79 

Red  River,  he  had  tamed  all  the  wild  ones  but  three. 
Two  of  those  had  been  broken  by  Jess;  the  third  no 
body  had  yet  mounted. 

This  last  was  a  good-sized,  vicious-looking  animal, 
of  a  rather  unusual  color  —  a  distinctly  bluish  cast. 
Twice  Ed  had  roped  him,  and  twice  Ed  and  others  had 
attempted  to  put  a  saddle  on  him.  But  so  furiously, 
savagely  had  the  beast  struggled  and  fought  that  they 
had  let  him  go. 

"Never  mind,  my  fine  fellow!  Your  day  will 
come!  I'll  show  you  who's  boss  of  this  outfit!  "  Ed 
exclaimed,  as  the  released  mustang,  kicking  up  his  heels 
contemptuously,  galloped  back  to  the  other  horses. 

That  was  in  Texas.  On  their  first  morning  in  the 
"  Nation,"  the  cook  informed  Burgess  that  their  sup 
ply  of  meat  was  running  short.  So  it  was  decided  to 
kill  a  beef.  The  weather  was  now  rather  warm,  and 
as  there  was  no  time  to  dry  the  meat  in  the  sun,  the 
only  way  to  keep  it  from  spoiling  was  to  barbecue  it  — 
half  cook  it  and  half  dry  it,  over  a  slow  fire.  To  do 
this  they  would  have  to  remain  in  camp  half  a  day. 

While  the  hands  were  getting  ready  to  butcher  a 
steer,  Ed  Simpson  remarked: 

"  You  boys  don't  need  me  here.  If  some  of  you 
will  help  me  ketch  'im  and  get  a  saddle  on  'im,  believe 
I'll  ride  that  blue  horse,  just  to  show  Mm  what's  what." 

"  Good  idea,  Ed,"  spoke  up  Burgess.  "  Break  him 
if  you  can;  and  if  you  can't  we'll  get  rid  of  him  some 
how.  We  don't  want  to  be  bothered  with  any  useless 
stock." 


8o  SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

"Oh,  I'll  ride  'im  if  his  hide  stays  on!"  declared 
the  cowboy,  with  a  look  of  grim  determination. 

The  blue  horse  was  soon  roped  and  thrown.  While 
others  held  him  down,  Ed  and  Jess  girted  a  saddle  on 
him,  then  bridled  him.  After  being  blindfolded,  the 
animal  was  allowed  to  get  upon  his  feet.  Now  Ed 
sprang  into  the  saddle.  At  the  same  time  the  blind 
was  removed,  and  the  men  ran  back  out  of  the  way. 

They  expected  some  furious  bucking;  but  what  fol 
lowed  astonished  even  these  cowboys,  familiar  though 
they  were  with  wild  horses. 

The  blue  mustang  actually  bawled  in  his  rage,  as 
he  used  every  possible  endeavor  to  get  rid  of  the  bur 
den  on  his  back.  He  bucked  and  bucked,  then  reared 
and  plunged  and  kicked  and  fought,  and  even  tried 
to  bite  his  rider's  legs.  Later  he  seemed  about  to 
throw  himself  down  to  roll.  The  goading  spurs  pre 
vented  this,  and  he  made  a  sudden  dash  for  some  tim 
ber,  intending  to  drag  the  cowboy  off  by  running 
through  the  brush.  But  Ed  steered  him  away  from 
the  timber  and  out  into  the  prairie.  They  finally  dis 
appeared  over  a  rise.  When  last  seen  the  horse  was 
still  bucking,  with  unabated  fury. 

"  Ed  will  conquer  him  —  never  fear  about  that," 
Gregory  remarked  to  the  party.  "  There's  a  rider," 
he  added,  admiringly. 

"  That's  what  he  is,"  agreed  Johnson.  "  If  he 
hadn't  been  one  of  the  best  riders  alive,  he  couldn't 
have  stayed  on  that  brute  two  minutes." 

"  I'd  rather  it  was  Ed  than  I  on  the  blue  demon,"  re- 


HE    BUCKED    AND    BUCKED. 


THE  BLUE  HORSE  AND  HIS  RIDER     81 

marked  Burgess.  "  Do  you  think  you  could  stay  with 
him,  Jess?" 

The  young  cowboy  looked  a  little  doubtful.  "  I'm 
glad  it's  not  my  job,"  he  admitted.  "  Still,  if  it  was, 
I'd  stick  as  long  as  I  could.  I'd  give  the  blue  fellow 
the  hardest  fight  possible." 

"  Well,  you  can  all  get  on  that  kind  of  brutes  that 
want  to,"  said  Johnson.  "  But  as  for  me,  I'd  as  soon 
try  to  saddle  and  ride  Satan  himself." 

The  party  now  turned  their  attention  to  the  busi 
ness  in  hand.  After  cutting  a  three-year-old  steer  out 
of  the  herd,  and  driving  him  down  to  camp,  they  shot 
him  and  skinned  him.  Then,  while  some  made  a 
framework  of  forks  and  poles,  others  cut  the  meat 
into  slices  or  strips,  thrust  sticks  through  them,  and  laid 
the  sticks  on  the  framework.  Now  fires  were  kindled 
under  the  meat,  hot  enough  to  cook  it  slowly,  without 
burning  it. 

The  meat  had  to  be  closely  watched  all  the  time. 
When  the  first  lot  had  been  sufficiently  cooked,  it  was 
removed  and  another  lot  hung  over  the  fire.  And  so 
on  till  the  whole  beef  was  rudely  barbecued.  It  was 
all  more  or  less  smoked;  but  little  would  a  hungry  cow 
boy  care  for  such  a  trifle  as  that. 

The  task  of  barbecuing  the  beef  occupied  the  whole 
forenoon.  After  it  had  been  going  on  for  an  hour 
or  so,  one  of  the  cowboys  had  occasion  to  walk  up  to 
the  top  of  the  rise,  near  by.  On  coming  back,  he  re 
marked  to  the  barbecuers: 

"  Well,  the  blue  is  still  at  it,  as  hard  as  ever." 


82  SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

"  And  Ed  —  is  he  still  on  top?"  inquired  Burgess. 

"  Ed  is  still  on  top." 

"  And  will  be  till  this  time  next  week,  I  guess,  if  he 
can't  conquer  the  brute  sooner,"  spoke  up  Gregory. 
"  He's  savage  on  a  horse,  but  he  can  ride." 

Having  confidence  that  the  cowboy  could  take  care 
of  himself,  they  went  on  with  their  cooking 
and  thought  little  more  about  him.  But  just  as  their 
task  was  finished,  one  of  the  herders  came  down  from 
the  prairie. 

"  Do  you  know,  boys,  that  mustang's  still  busy? 
I've  always  been  used  to  mean  horses,  but  I  never  saw 
one  that  could  match  that  blue." 

Jess  caught  up  his  bridle.  "  I'm  going  to  see  about 
that,"  he  said.  "  It's  hard  enough  on  a  fellow  to 
straddle  a  pitching  horse  fifteen  or  twenty  minutes  at 
a  stretch.  But  Ed  has  been  on  that  brute  four  hours. 
An  iron  man  couldn't  stand  that." 

"  Ed  seems  to  be  standing  it  all  right.  He's  still  in 
the  saddle,"  spoke  up  the  herder. 

But  Jess  and  Phil  Gregory  got  their  horses,  which 
were  staked  near  by,  saddled  and  mounted  them,  and 
galloped  away  over  the  rise.  A  few  minutes  later 
Gregory  returned,  riding  faster  than  he  had  gone. 

"  Boys,  we've  got  to  make  a  litter  as  quick  as  we 
can,"  he  said,  springing  to  the  ground.  "  Ed's  badly 
hurt." 

"  Did  the  blue  pitch  him  off?"  somebody  called 
out. 

"  No.     When  Jess  and  I  got  there,  Ed  was  still  in 


THE  BLUE  HORSE  AND  HIS  RIDER     83 

the  saddle.  We  didn't  notice  anything  wrong  till  we 
rode  close,  and  then  we  discovered  that  he  was  as  pale 
as  a  ghost,  and  that  blood  was  running  out  of  his 
mouth." 

"Why,  what  in  the  world  was  the  matter?"  de 
manded  Burgess. 

"  He's  injured  internally,  Joe,"  answered  Gregory. 
"  That  awful  jerking  and  jolting  for  four  hours  was 
too  much,  even  for  Ed  Simpson.  Half  of  it  would 
have  been  too  much  for  anybody  else.  He  says  he  felt 
all  right  till  a  few  minutes  ago;  and  then  something 
seemed  to  give  way  inside  of  him.  After  that  he  was 
afraid  to  attempt  to  dismount,  and  he  couldn't  get  the 
horse  back  to  camp.  So  all  he  could  do  was  to  stay  in 
the  saddle.  I'm  glad  we  went  over  when  we  did. 
The  blue  was  still  bucking  away  as  best  he  could;  but 
he  had  used  himself  up,  and  it  didn't  amount  to  much. 
He  almost  reeled  after  we  got  Ed  and  the  saddle  off, 
and  turned  him  loose." 

"Will  Ed  have  to  be  carried  in?"  asked  Johnson. 

"  Oh  yes,  Jeddy.  He's  scarcely  able  to  stand,  much 
less  walk.  The  fellow's  badly  hurt.  I  can  tell  you 
that." 

A  rude  litter  was  hastily  put  together,  and  then  the 
whole  party,  except  Burgess  and  Granny,  set  off  on 
foot  to  carry  in  the  injured  cowboy.  They  soon  re 
turned. 

Ed,  looking  very  pale,  lay  with  his  eyes  shut  while 
they  were  bringing  him  into  camp.  But  he  opened 
them  when  they  lifted  him  from  the  litter  to  a  bed  of 


84  SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

blankets.  Burgess,  plainly  much  worried,  bent  over 
the  cowboy  and  felt  his  pulse. 

"  Oh  Ed,  Ed,  why  did  you  stay  on  that  savage  beast 
so  long?  Why  didn't  you  jump  off  and  let  him  go?  " 

The  cowboy's  tones  were  very  faint,  scarcely  recog 
nizable,  as  he  replied: 

"  I  couldn't  have  got  my  saddle  off  without  —  with 
out—" 

"  Then  why  didn't  you  put  a  bullet  through  his  head? 
That's  what  I'd  have  done,  in  your  place.  We've  got 
no  use  for  such  animals  as  that,  anyhow." 

"  Well,  Mr.  Burgess,  I  told  you  I'd  ride  any  horse 
you  wanted  rode.  And  I  —  I  —  I  did."  He  closed 
his  eyes  wearily,  but  opened  them  again.  "  He  didn't 
get  me  off.  The  boys  will  tell  you  that." 

"  No,  I  know  he  didn't,  Ed.  But  I  wish  you  hadn't 
done  it.  I  wanted  you  to  ride  horses,  not  a  fiend  in 
the  shape  of  a  horse.  How  do  you  feel?  " 

"  I'm  not  in  any  particular  pain,  but  I'm  mighty 
weak  —  weak  and  tired,  Mr.  Burgess."  He  closed 
his  eyes  again. 

The  partners  now  walked  aside  and  held  a  consul 
tation.  All  agreed  that  Ed  was  dangerously  hurt. 
They  decided  to  send  back  to  Texas  for  a  doctor.  Jess 
volunteered  to  make  the  ride.  But  when  the  matter 
was  mentioned  to  Ed,  he  suggested  something  else. 

"  Chances  are  that  this  will  wind  me  up,"  he  said. 
"  But  even  if  I  get  well,  it'll  not  be  in  time  to  go  with 
you  to  California.  That's  out  of  the  question  now. 
I've  got  a  cousin  over  there  in  Texas,  close  to  Sherman. 


THE  BLUE  HORSE  AND  HIS  RIDER     85 

The  best  thing  you  can  do  is  to  get  me  back  there 
somehow,  and  leave  me.  My  cousin  and  his  family 
will  take  care  of  me  all  right.  And  you  boys  have 
got  no  time  to  fool  away  with  me  here." 

"  We  can  take  time,"  declared  Burgess. 

"  No,  that  won't  do.  You  don't  dare.  If  you 
stayed  here  till  I  got  well,  not  a  hoof  of  the  Bar-Circle 
drove  would  ever  reach  California." 

After  discussing  the  matter  again,  the  partners  re 
luctantly  decided  that  what  Ed  had  proposed  was  the 
best  thing  to  do  under  the  circumstances.  So  Gregory 
mounted  his  horse  and  set  out  for  a  cabin  they  had 
passed,  a  mile  back.  He  soon  returned. 

"  I  found  a  Choctaw  living  there,"  he  reported. 
"  By  good  luck  he  had  a  wagon  and  an  ox-team,  and 
I  hired  him  to  haul  Ed  to  Sherman.  He  was  yoking 
up  when  I  rode  away." 

When  at  length  the  Indian  came,  he  had  only  an 
empty  wagon.  The  men  fell  to  work  with  hands  or 
knives,  and  soon  had  grass  enough  pulled  or  cut  to  fill 
the  wagon-bed.  On  this  the  injured  cowboy  was  laid. 
Then  all  the  party  crowded  around  to  tell  him  good 
bye. 

"  I  wish  I  could  have  gone  with  you,  boys,"  Ed 
roused  himself  to  say.  "  It'll  be  a  great  trip;  but  it's 
not  for  me.  I  hope  you'll  get  through  —  I  hope  you'll 
get  through  safe.  But  —  I  don't  know." 

The  Choctaw  drove  away.  Jess  was  riding  on  one 
side  of  the  wagon  and  Gregory  on  the  other.  The 
rest  of  the  party  now  began  to  saddle  their  horses; 


86  SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

for  Burgess  announced  that  the  drove  would  move  on 
a  few  miles. 

It  had  been  dark  an  hour  when  the  ox-wagon  ar 
rived  at  its  destination,  just  beyond  the  little  town  of 
Sherman,  and  Ed  Simpson  was  turned  over  to  the  care 
of  his  relatives.  A  doctor  had  been  summoned  as 
they  passed  through  the  town.  Ed  seemed  none  the 
worse  for  his  ride. 

Gregory  paid  him  all  the  money  that  was  due  him, 
and  more.  Then  they  bade  him  good-bye. 

"  We'll  shoot  that  mustang  when  we  overtake  the 
drove,  Ed,"  Gregory  remarked. 

"  No,  no,  Phil,  don't  do  it  —  don't  do  anything  of 
the  kind,"  the  cowboy  hastened  to  say.  "  I've  been 
used  to  wild  horses  all  my  life,  but  I  never  saw  one 
make  as  hard  a  fight  as  the  blue  did.  I  had  every  ad 
vantage  in  the  world,  and  yet  he  beat  me  bad  enough. 
No  saddle-slavery  for  him.  He  was  half  dead  him 
self  when  you  boys  took  me  off  his  back;  but  he  wasn't 
any  nearer  conquered  than  when  I  climbed  on  'im.  If 
you  don't  want  'im,  cut  'im  out  and  let  'im  go.  He's 
earned  his  freedom  —  more  than  earned  it.  But  it 
was  a  fool's  job  for  me  —  a  fool's  job." 

"  Be  sure  to  write  to  some  of  us  when  you  get  bet 
ter,  Ed,"  said  Jess.  "  We  expect  to  be  at  Fort  Gib 
son  a  week  or  two,  you  know." 

'  Yes,  I'll  write  as  soon  as  I'm  able,  Jess,"  Ed  re 
plied,  almost  cheerfully. 

But  Gregory  and  Jess  rode  back  to  town  with  the 
doctor,  and  he  assured  them  that  it  would  be  little  less 


THE  BLUE  HORSE  AND  HIS  RIDER     87 

than  a  miracle  if  the  injured  man  lived  more  than  a 
day  or  two. 

The  two  men  rode  hard,  but  it  was  far  along  in  the 
night  when  they  reached  the  Bar-Circle  camp  —  a  new 
camp.  And  rain  began  to  fall  while  they  were  unsad 
dling. 

It  may  be  explained  here  that  no  word  ever  came 
from  Ed  Simpson;  and  Jess  never  learned  whether  his 
friend  lived  or  died.  However,  there  is  every  reason 
to  believe  that  his  injuries  proved  fatal. 

The  blue  horse  was  left  with  the  herd.  No  other 
attempt  was  made  to  tame  him.  But  he  was  never 
the  same  animal  again.  Every  day  he  grew  thinner. 
One  morning,  two  weeks  later,  while  the  Bar-Circle 
Outfit  was  camped  near  the  Arkansas  River,  they  found 
him  dead. 

There  had  been  a  duel  between  the  unconquerable 
horse  and  the  unyielding  cowboy,  and  they  had  done 
each  other  to  death.  Or,  more  correctly,  perhaps,  the 
blue  mustang,  rather  than  become  a  slave,  had  killed 
both  his  rider  and  himself.  It  was  one  of  the  tragedies 
of  the  cattle-trail. 

The  loss  of  their  best  hand  proved  a  severe  blow  to 
the  whole  Bar-Circle  Outfit,  filling  the  camp  with 
gloom,  and  throwing  more  hard  work  upon  those  who 
remained.  And  upon  nobody  did  more  of  the  heavy 
work  fall  than  upon  Jess  Holloway;  for  none  of  them 
could  stand  more  of  it  —  or  as  much  of  it. 

Until  now  the  weather  had  been  dry.  But  the  rain 
that  began  to  fall  as  Gregory  and  Jess  rode  into  camp, 


88  SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

on  their  return  from  Sherman,  proved  to  be  the  begin 
ning  of  a  rainy  season.  And  such  a  season!  From 
here  on  to  the  Arkansas  River  it  would  be  splash, 
splash,  splash !  When  not  wading,  the  caravan  would 
be  swimming. 


CHAPTER  IX 

THROUGH  STORMS  AND  FLOODS 

ON  the  second  night  following  Ed  Simpson's  misfor 
tune,  all  the  Bar-Circle  Outfit  passed  through  the  most 
unpleasant  experience  of  the  journey,  up  till  now. 

There  had  been  two  hours  of  slow  rain  in  the  morn 
ing,  and  threatenings  of  rain  all  the  afternoon;  but  by 
night  the  sky  was  almost  clear.  For  once  Jess  was  very 
sleepy.  He  had  slept  scarcely  at  all  the  night  before. 
No  sooner  was  supper  over  than  he  hunted  up  his 
blankets,  crawled  under  the  wagon,  and  a  minute  or 
two  later  was  in  the  land  of  dreams. 

Not  till  after  midnight  did  he  return  to  conscious 
ness.  Usually  he  woke  at  a  touch,  but  now  he  had  to 
be  shaken  vigorously.  Burgess  was  saying: 

"  Wake  up,  Jess !  Wake  up !  wake  up !  Saddle 
your  horse  as  soon  as  you  can." 

uWhat  —  what's  the  matter  now?"  asked  the 
drowsy  cowboy,  sitting  up  so  suddenly,  while  still  half 
asleep,  that  he  bumped  his  head  against  the  coupling- 
pole. 

"  I'm  sorry  to  call  you  out  to-night,  Jess.  I  know 
how  sleepy  and  tired  you  must  be.  But  there's  a  fear 
ful  storm  brewing,  and  all  hands  will  be  needed  to  hold 
the  cattle." 

"  I'll  be  with  you,"  answered  Jess,  groping  for  his 

89 


90  SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

clothes.  He  crawled  out  from  under  the  wagon  to 
dress. 

There  was  a  foreboding  stillness  in  the  air,  he 
noticed,  and  a  frightfully  black  cloud  hung  in  the  west. 
Dazzling,  blinding  flashes  of  lightning  gleamed  from 
the  storm-cloud  every  now  and  then.  Sometimes  the 
air  trembled  with  the  rumbling  and  rolling  of  distant 
thunder. 

All  the  other  hands  were  up,  and  most  of  them  were 
mounted.  Jess  seized  his  saddle  and  hurried  to  his 
horse,  staked  not  far  away  for  just  such  emergencies  as 
this.  He  was  soon  galloping  toward  the  herd. 

The  cowboys  scarcely  had  time  to  reach  the  cattle 
and  take  their  stations,  when  the  storm  burst  upon 
them  in  its  fury.  And  such  a  storm  as  followed  Jess 
had  seldom  seen  and  never  before  been  out  in. 

Some  of  the  men  had  their  blankets  fastened  around 
their  shoulders  as  a  protection.  But  others,  Jess 
among  them,  wore  only  their  ordinary  clothes.  All 
they  could  do  was  to  pull  down  their  hat-brims,  turn 
their  backs  to  the  storm  and  take  it.  And  soon  there 
was  not  a  dry  thread  on  any  of  them. 

For  two  hours  the  rain  poured  down  in  torrents, 
till  the  whole  prairie  seemed  afloat.  The  lightnings 
gleamed  blindingly,  and  the  thunders  crashed  and 
boomed  and  rolled.  And  through  it  all  the  wind 
roared  and  raged,  whirling  and  dashing  in  such  fright 
ful  gusts  that  at  times  it  threatened  to  tear  the  riders 
out  of  their  saddles. 

No  sooner  did  the  storm  swoop  down  upon  them 


THROUGH  STORMS  AND  FLOODS      91 

than  the  cattle  began  to  drift  before  it.  And  they  kept 
drifting  till  it  had  passed  over.  The  herders  moved 
with  them.  More  than  once,  when  the  electric  explo 
sions  rent  the  air,  the  whole  herd  made  a  forward  rush, 
as  if  starting  on  a  stampede.  But  they  never  ran  far. 
All  through  the  storm,  even  when  it  was  hardest,  some 
of  the  men  kept  up  a  cheerful  kind  of  shouting  and 
others  sang,  to  quiet  their  frightened  charges.  Every 
lightning-flash  showed  the  steers  crowded  together,  with 
all  heads  pointing  in  the  same  direction. 

By  the  time  the  storm  had  passed  on,  the  herd  had 
drifted  at  least  two  miles.  The  night  was  now  pitch- 
dark,  and  all  the  men  were  soaked  and  chilled  and  mis 
erable;  but  not  one  of  them  attempted  to  make  his  way 
back  to  camp.  They  sat  in  their  wet  saddles  and 
waited  for  daylight. 

When  at  last  morning  dawned,  they  rounded  up  the 
grazing  steers  and  drove  them  toward  the  road.  At 
the  same  time  Gregory  started  back  to  the  wagon,  to 
let  Burgess  know  that  everything  was  safe,  and  to 
have  the  camp  moved  up  to  the  cattle.  The  steers 
were  counted  this  morning,  but  none  had  got  away. 

That  was  their  first  and  perhaps  their  worst  storm, 
but  by  no  means  their  last.  Indeed,  during  the  two 
weeks  and  more  between  Red  River  and  the  Arkansas, 
they  must  have  passed  through  not  less  than  half  a 
dozen  similar  storms,  besides  showers  and  less  violent 
rains  too  numerous  to  keep  count  of. 

On  the  day  after  the  big  storm,  Burgess  hired  an 
other  man,  on  trial.  The  new  hand  had  spent  several 


92  SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

years  in  the  United  States  army.  Soon  everybody  was 
calling  him  the  old  soldier,  not  because  he  was  old  — 
he  was  under  forty;  but  because  he  had  performed  so 
many  deeds  of  valor  while  in  the  army  —  he  related 
them  himself,  around  the  camp-fire  —  that  it  was  soon 
agreed  that  he  must  have  seen  not  less  than  fifty  years 
of  service.  He  was  a  fluent  talker,  and  never  failed 
to  make  himself  the  hero  of  his  own  stories.  Indeed, 
times  without  number  he  had  saved  a  large  part  of  the 
United  States  army  from  utter  destruction  by  his 
courage  and  presence  of  mind. 

"What  was  your  rank?"  Gregory  inquired  one 
night. 

"  I  was  a  private." 

"  A  private !  Why,  a  soldier  that  has  done  all  that 
youVe  done  for  your  country  ought  to  be  at  least  a 
major-general." 

"  I  would  have  been  a  general  if  I'd  had  a  chance. 
But  them  West  P'int  fellers,  they  see  to  it  that  no 
body  but  theirselves  don't  git  a  chance  to  raise,"  re 
plied  the  unabashed  soldier. 

"  Too  bad!"  answered  Gregory.  "Boys,  just  to 
show  what  we  think  of  the  conduct  of  those  West 
Pointers,  I  suggest  that  we  promote  this  man  to  the 
rank  he  has  so  well  earned.  All  in  favor  of  this  will 
hereafter  address  him  as  General." 

The  suggestion  was  promptly  adopted,  and  the 
soldier  that  had  been  only  a  private  in  the  army 
promptly  became  a  general  among  the  cowboys. 

But  he  received  this  title  with  such  evidences  of  sat- 


THROUGH  STORMS  AND  FLOODS      93 

isfaction  that  some  of  the  hands  looked  about  for  one 
a  little  less  flattering.  The  man  himself  gave  them  a 
cue  when  he  let  it  be  known  that  he  had  deserted  from 
the  army.  From  this  time  on,  though  addressed  as 
General,  he  was  commonly  spoken  of  as  the  Deserter. 
And  it  is  by  one  or  the  other  of  these  titles  that  he  will 
be  known  in  this  story;  for  his  name  has  been  lost 
among  the  years  that  have  since  come  and  gone. 

A  night  or  two  after  the  new  man  had  been  en 
gaged,  Burgess  called  Jess  aside. 

"  I  wish  you'd  take  the  General  out  and  put  him 
through  to-night" 

"  I'll  do  it,"  was  the  cheerful  reply.  And  Jess  and 
the  Deserter  rode  out  to  patrol  the  herd. 

During  the  first  two  or  three  hours  the  new  man 
made  his  rounds  quietly,  stopping  sometimes  when 
they  met  to  tell  Jess  some  of  his  marvelous  exploits  in 
the  army.  But  at  length  he  began  to  grow  sleepy  and 
impatient 

"  When  do  you  reckon  they'll  relieve  us?"  he  de 
manded. 

"  No  telling,"  replied  Jess.  "  Burgess  ordered  us 
to  stay  out  till  he  sent  somebody  to  take  our  places, 
you  recollect  He'll  let  us  know  when  he  wants  us  to 
come  in.  Our  business  is  to  obey  orders.  You  must 
have  learned  that  in  the  army." 

The  Deserter  grumbled  and  swore  a  little,  and  rode 
on.  But  he  grumbled  more  and  more  loudly  every 
time  they  met.  Finally,  after  a  few  rounds  more,  Jess 
failed  to  meet  him. 


94  SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

"What's  gone  with  the  fellow?"  he  asked  himself. 
"  He  must  have  deserted  again." 

But  soon  he  discovered  a  riderless  horse  grazing  at 
the  edge  of  the  herd.  Approaching,  he  learned  that 
the  Deserter  had  dismounted  and,  finding  the  grass  wet 
with  dew,  had  driven  up  a  steer  and  was  now  lying  in 
the  animal's  dry  place,  sound  asleep. 

Jess  was  both  amused  and  disgusted.  Getting 
down,  he  punched  the  sleeper  vigorously  with  his  foot. 

"Are  you  crazy,  man?  Get  up  from  here!  Get 
up,  I  tell  you !  " 

The  General  roused  enough  to  grumble  and  swear. 
At  last  he  sat  up.  "  Why  don't  you  let  a  feller  have  a 
little  nap?"  he  growled. 

"  If  you  do  much  napping  here,  you  stand  a  good 
chance  to  wake  up  on  the  other  side  of  Jordan.  I 
wouldn't  go  to  sleep  where  you  are  for  all  the  gold  in 
California.  Why,  if  these  cattle  had  stampeded,  there 
wouldn't  have  been  enough  of  you  left  to  hold  a  fu 
neral  over." 

The  fellow  grumbled  and  swore,  but  finally  mounted 
his  horse  again. 

Fearing  that  the  Deserter  might  do  something  else 
equally  foolish,  Jess  rode  to  camp  and  reported  the 
matter  to  Burgess.  Soos,  the  Mexican,  and  another 
man  were  promptly  sent  to  the  herd,  and  the  former 
soldier  was  permitted  to  come  in  and  go  to  bed.  The 
Deserter  had  been  tested  and  found  wanting. 

But  in  spite  of  his  failure  he  was  not  discharged. 
They  were  in  need  of  hands  at  present;  and  Burgess 


THROUGH  STORMS  AND  FLOODS      95 

hoped  to  use  him  as  a  teamster  after  they  had  outfitted 
at  Fort  Gibson. 

Rain  was  now  falling  every  day,  and  often  two  or 
three  times  a  day.  The  marching  of  the  drove  was  a 
continuous  splashing,  through  mud  and  water.  Ra 
vines  and  hollows  ordinarily  dry  were  torrents  after 
those  heavy  downpours.  The  creeks  were  swollen  to 
rivers,  and  the  rivers  were  either  bank-full  or  out  of 
their  banks.  The  torrents  would  soon  run  down  till 
they  could  be  forded,  and  the  rivers  had  flatboats  to 
ferry  the  wagon  across.  But  with  the  middle-sized 
streams,  those  that  in  dry  weather  would  be  easily 
fordable,  there  was  no  end  of  trouble. 

The  first  of  these  encountered  was  a  large  creek,  or 
small  river,  known  as  the  South  Boggy.  The  Bar- 
Circle  Outfit  arrived  there  soon  after  beginning  an  af 
ternoon  drive,  and  found  it  level  with  its  banks,  very 
swift,  and  thirty  to  forty  yards  wide. 

The  steers  swam  it  easily,  and  so  did  the  loose  horses, 
and  the  drivers,  on  horseback.  But  how  to  get  the 
wagon  across  without  waiting  for  the  stream  to  run 
down  was  a  question.  For  there  was  neither  ferry 
boat  nor  bridge. 

As  it  happened,  some  of  the  partly  discovered  three 
Indian  canoes  —  logs  hollowed  out  —  tied  to  trees  not 
far  above  the  ford.  These  would  answer  the  purpose. 

A  few  of  the  drivers  remained  on  the  far  side,  to 
hold  the  cattle.  But  most  of  them  swam  their  horses 
back,  to  help  with  the  wagon.  While  some  cut  poles 
and  tied  them  across  the  three  canoes,  to  fasten  them 


96  SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

together,  but  a  few  feet  apart,  others  took  out  the 
oxen,  unyoked  them  and  made  them  swim  the  stream. 
Then  the  wagon-sheet  and  bows  were  taken  off,  the 
wagon  unloaded,  and  the  wagon-bed  lifted  from  the 
running-gear  and  set  on  the  three  canoes.  A  strong 
rope  was  now  stretched  across  the  stream,  to  keep  their 
craft  from  being  swept  away,  and  soon  a  rude  ferry 
was  running. 

There  were  two  ferrymen  in  the  wagon-bed,  and  but 
a  few  hundred  pounds  of  freight  could  be  sent  across 
at  a  time.  So  several  trips  must  be  made.  The  run 
ning-gear  of  the  wagon  had  to  be  taken  to  pieces. 

When  everything  had  been  ferried  to  the  north 
bank,  the  cowboys  swam  across.  Now  the  wagon 
was  put  together  and  loaded  again,  and  the  oxen  yoked 
and  hooked  to  it.  Then  the  outfit  moved  on. 

But  after  marching  about  half  a  mile,  they  came  to 
another  stream,  not  quite  so  large  as  the  one  just 
passed,  but  equally  troublesome  to  cross. 

The  General  and  another  hand,  Dick  McCarty  by 
name,  were  now  sent  over  in  advance  to  hold  the  cat 
tle,  the  rest  of  the  drivers  remaining  on  the  south 
side  to  help  get  the  wagon  over.  There  were  no 
canoes  here,  and  the  three  used  before  had  to  be 
dragged  from  one  stream  to  the  other,  through  thick 
woods,  with  the  oxen.  Then  the  whole  process  of 
ferrying  the  wagon  and  its  load  across  had  to  be  gone 
through  again. 

By  the  time  it  was  finished  and  the  outfit  was  ready 
to  move  on,  night  was  at  hand.  But  when  the  drivers 


THROUGH  STORMS  AND  FLOODS      97 

rode  out  to  put  the  cattle  in  motion,  they  made  a  start 
ling  discovery. 

The  two  men  sent  across  to  hold  the  herd  had  about 
three  hundred  of  them  rounded  up.  The  other 
twenty-two  hundred  had  disappeared  —  vanished  like 
magic. 

The  whole  country,  low  bottom  land,  was  covered 
with  a  dense  forest,  through  which  it  was  impossible 
to  see  many  yards;  and,  unknown  to  the  two  herders, 
the  lost  steers,  becoming  restless,  had  scattered  and 
slipped  away.  Most  of  them  had  probably  been  gone 
for  hours.  Where  or  how  far  away  they  were  by  this 
time  nobody  could  even  guess. 


CHAPTER  X 

FORT  GIBSON  AND  THE  ARKANSAS 

IT  was  a  serious  situation,  especially  for  the  three 
partners.  Cattle  that  had  cost  twenty  thousand  dol 
lars,  and  would  be  worth  several  times  that  sum  in  Cali 
fornia,  were  scattering  over  the  country  at  will,  wan 
dering  nobody  knew  where.  Night  was  coming  on, 
with  indications  of  rain.  Much  of  the  timber  here  was 
the  thorny  bois-d'arc,  or  Osage  orange,  very  trouble 
some  to  ride  through,  even  in  daylight.  Nothing  could 
be  done  till  morning. 

Both  the  Deserter  and  Dick  McCarty,  who  had  al 
lowed  the  cattle  to  escape,  were  hands  of  little  expe 
rience.  They  had  rounded  up  the  whole  drove,  they 
declared,  and  being  unable  to  see  many  yards  through 
the  leafy  forest,  had  supposed  they  were  holding  all. 

The  three  owners  took  their  loss  very  differently. 
Gregory  was  cheerful,  having  no  doubt  the  missing 
steers  could  easily  be  found  and  driven  back  next  morn 
ing.  Johnson,  on  the  other  hand,  was  as  angry  as  a 
man  could  well  be,  and  did  not  hesitate  to  express  his 
feelings.  Burgess,  though  evidently  much  worried, 
admitted  that  he  ought  to  have  sent  more  hands  across. 
The  cattle  had  been  held  here  for  hours,  and  having 
nothing  to  browse  on  but  leaves,  they  had  naturally 
become  very  restless. 


FORT  GIBSON  AND  THE  ARKANSAS      99 

The  only  thing  that  could  be  done  just  now  was  to 
wait.  So  the  little  remnant  of  the  herd,  followed  by 
the  wagon,  was  driven  out  to  the  edge  of  the  prairie. 
There  the  party  went  into  camp. 

It  was  an  anxious  night  for  everybody,  and  especially 
for  Burgess,  who  was  too  nervous  and  restless  to  sleep. 
Long  before  day  every  man  of  them  was  up  and  had 
eaten  his  breakfast.  There  had  been  some  rain  during 
the  night,  but  the  sky  was  now  clear.  As  soon  as 
there  was  light  enough  to  see  a  steer,  the  men  started 
out,  in  parties  of  three  or  four.  Even  Davis,  the 
wagon-driver,  and  Granny,  the  fat  cook,  were  mounted 
and  sent  out.  But  two  men  remained  to  look  after  the 
cattle  and  the  loose  horses, '  and  Burgess  was  one  of 
those. 

An  hour  or  two  later  the  first  bunch  of  steers  was 
brought  in  —  about  thirty  of  them.  And  so  they  kept 
coming  during  the  day,  in  bunches  of  twenty  to  fifty. 
Not  a  man  stopped  for  dinner.  Indeed,  no  halt  of 
any  kind  was  made  save  to  shift  a  saddle  from  a  tired 
horse  to  a  fresh  one.  But  when  night  put  an  end  to 
the  search,  only  about  three  hundred  and  fifty  head  of 
the  lost  beeves  had  been  recovered.  A  sorry  showing, 
certainly,  for  such  a  big  day's  work. 

"  Too  slow  —  too  slow  —  too  slow!  "  declared  Bur 
gess,  as  he  paced  nervously  back  and  forth  by  the  camp- 
fire  that  night.  "  By  the  time  we  get  half  of  them 
rounded  up,  the  other  half  will  be  scattered  from  the 
Arkansas  to  the  Brazos." 

"  Then  let's  offer  a  reward,"  proposed  Johnson. 


TOO  SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

UA  reward's  the  thing!  A  reward  will  rake  'em 
in !  "  cried  Gregory. 

So,  as  the  men  rode  through  the  country  next  day 
in  search  of  lost  cattle,  word  was  left  at  every  cabin 
that  half  a  dollar  a  head  would  be  paid  for  all  steers 
wearing  the  bar-circle,  delivered  at  the  camp. 

Results  followed  promptly.  Long  before  night  cat 
tle  began  to  pour  in  upon  the  herders.  By  the  second 
night  Burgess's  saddle-bags  were  six  hundred  dollars 
lighter,  and  the  drove  was  swelling  toward  its  original 
proportions.  Numbers  of  Choctaws  —  this  was  the 
land  of  the  Choctaw  Indians  —  delighted  at  this  easy 
way  of  coining  gold,  were  scouring  the  country  near 
and  far.  Steers  came  in  more  slowly  later,  and  a  few 
of  them  were  never  found. 

When  at  length  the  caravan  marched  on  again,  eight 
or  nine  hundred  dollars  in  gold  had  been  paid  to  the 
Indians,  twenty-odd  steers  were  missing,  and  a  week  of 
precious  time  had  been  lost. 

"  But  we're  wiser  —  oh,  ever  so  much  wiser!  "  de 
clared  Gregory. 

During  the  stop  in  the  Boggy  Creek  country,  two 
new  hands  had  been  employed.  One  of  them,  Sam 
Patterson,  was  a  half-breed,  the  son  of  a  white  father 
and  a  Choctaw  mother.  He  had  a  fair  education,  and 
spoke  good  English.  The  other  man  was  a  cousin  of 
Sam's,  but  a  full-blood  Choctaw.  He  was  tall  and 
very  dark,  with  high  cheek-bones,  and  with  raven-black 
hair  hanging  to  his  shoulders  —  a  very  striking-looking 
Indian.  He  understood  but  little  English,  and  spoke 


FORT  GIBSON  AND  THE  ARKANSAS     101 

less.  For  a  day  or  two  he  was  called  by  his  Choctaw 
name,  and  after  that  by  the  same  name  translated  — 
Hawk  Tail. 

With  most  of  the  cattle  recovered,  and  with  the  two 
new  hands,  the  caravan  pushed  northward  again. 
Rain  was  still  falling  nearly  every  day.  Every  stream 
was  swimming.  Both  the  North  and  the  South 
Canadians  were  out  of  their  banks.  Several  times 
the  wagon  had  to  be  taken  to  pieces  and  ferried  over 
on  rudely  constructed  rafts. 

At  times  it  seemed  to  rain  every  night,  and  the 
drowsy  hands  had  to  snatch  what  sleep  they  could  in 
daylight,  while  the  cattle  were  resting  and  grazing. 
Every  man's  endurance  was  tried  to  the  utmost.  Sev 
eral  fell  sick  at  different  times,  from  exposure  or  ex 
haustion,  and  had  to  be  hauled  in  the  wagon.  But  the 
wiry,  tireless  Jess  Holloway  went  through  it  all  and 
outrode  them  all,  and  never  so  much  as  stopped  joking. 
By  sheer  hardiness  and  endurance  he  had  taken  Ed 
Simpson's  place  as  the  leader  of  the  drivers.  Older 
and  more  experienced  hands,  acknowledging  them 
selves  unable  to  keep  up  with  him,  much  less  set  the 
pace  for  him,  had  willingly  stood  aside. 

Burgess,  with  the  Rockies  and  the  snows  of  winter 
always  in  his  mind's  eye,  urged  everybody  on  relent 
lessly.  No  day's  march  was  ever  quite  long  enough 
for  him.  And  the  cheerful,  perpetually  good-natured 
Jess  was  his  delight.  All  the  other  hands,  and  even 
the  two  partners,  grumbled  and  growled  at  times,  but 
Jess  was  always  ready  to  get  up  and  go,  and  usually  he 


102  SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

was  eager  to  go.  Called  out  of  his  blankets  at  mid 
night  to  guard  the  cattle  through  an  approaching 
storm,  he  shouted: 

"  The  more  rain  the  more  splash,  boys !  Get  wet 
while  you  can !  It'll  be  dry  enough  when  we  strike  the 
high  plains,  in  July  and  August!  "  And  he  hurried  to 
saddle  his  horse. 

One  morning  after  an  early  breakfast,  Burgess  and 
Jess  rode  out  to  relieve  the  herders,  Burgess  with  those 
saddle-bags  behind  him.  There  had  been  some  rain 
during  the  night,  and  the  cattle  had  drifted  a  mile  or 
more  from  the  camp.  Not  long  after  the  relieved 
herders  had  gone,  Burgess  noticed  several  steers  in  the 
distance  and  called  attention  to  them. 

"  It's  possible  that  some  of  ours  have  slipped  away. 
Wouldn't  it  be  well  for  you  to  ride  over  there  and  in 
vestigate?  " 

Jess  went,  but  found  no  steers  wearing  the  bar-circle. 
He  had  barely  started  back  when  the  roar  of  flying 
hoofs  reached  his  ears.  The  whole  drove  had  set  off 
as  fast  as  they  could  clatter.  What  had  frightened 
them  was  never  known,  but  it  was  a  veritable  stampede 
—  a  daylight  stampede. 

Away  the  big  drove  thundered,  at  a  speed  inspired 
by  terror.  There  was  no  scattering;  all  ran  together, 
the  drove  following  their  leaders  like  sheep.  Burgess 
was  riding  after  them  on  his  big  horse;  but  the  horse 
was  rather  clumsy,  and  those  heavy  saddle-bags  were 
flopping  up  and  down. 

Jess,    though    far   behind,    was    quickly    in   pursuit. 


FORT  GIBSON  AND  THE  ARKANSAS     103 

Seeing  a  long,  hard  race  ahead  of  him,  he  urged  his 
horse  only  to  a  speed  that  could  be  kept  up  for  miles. 

At  length  he  passed  Burgess,  and  later  he  drew 
alongside  the  fleeing  herd.  But  it  would  have  been  as 
easy  to  stop  a  tornado  as  to  stop  those  fear-maddened 
brutes.  Away  they  all  went,  up  and  down  hills,  across 
gullies  and  ravines,  at  headlong,  breakneck  speed! 
Jess  kept  calling  to  them,  but  the  roar  of  hoofs  and 
the  bellowing  drowned  his  voice. 

At  last,  after  the  whole  drove  had  run  five  or  six 
miles,  and  partially  exhausted  themselves,  Jess  spurred 
in  ahead  of  the  leaders.  Even  then  it  seemed  impos 
sible  to  do  anything  with  them,  so  panic-stricken  were 
they.  But  by  firing  his  six-shooter  in  front  of  their 
noses,  he  succeeded  in  turning  them.  By  this  time  the 
drove  had  got  well  strung  out,  the  fastest  animals  in 
the  lead  and  the  slowest  in  the  rear.  Jess  kept  the 
leaders  turning  till  they  were  running  in  a  circle,  and 
the  head  of  the  line  was  winding  itself  around  the  tail. 
In  a  very  short  time  he  had  them  tied  up  in  a  big 
knot.  Those  on  the  outside  were  running  round  and 
round,  and  those  on  the  inside  were  jammed  together 
like  sardines  in  a  box,  till  they  could  scarcely  move. 
And  there  they  stayed. 

Burgess  had  fallen  behind,  but  he  soon  caught  up. 

;<  Well  done,  Jess !  And  this  was  the  first  stampede 
you  ever  saw,  wasn't  it?  " 

"  Yes,  the  very  first.  I'd  heard  that  cattle  could  be 
tied  up  like  this,  and  I'd  made  up  my  mind  to  try  it  if 
I  ever  had  a  chance.  It  worked  all  right." 


104  SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

"  It  certainly  did.  Ed  couldn't  have  managed  the 
thing  better.  I  couldn't  have  done  anything  myself, 
especially  with  these  saddle-bags  pounding  my  horse 
and  threatening  to  burst  themselves.  Now,  let's  see. 
One  of  us  will  have  to  go  back  for  the  boys.  I'll  go. 
You  can  manage  the  cattle  better  than  I  can." 

"  The  boys  may  have  heard,"  said  Jess.  "  The 
cattle  certainly  made  noise  enough.  And  old  Ball's 
bell  kept  up  a  frightful  ringing  all  the  way." 

"  Yes,  they  may  have  heard,  or  they  may  not.  I'll 
go  back,  to  make  sure.  Here,  you  keep  these  saddle 
bags.  I  can't  half  ride  with  the  things." 

Jess  received  those  bags  of  gold  and  laid  them 
across  the  back  part  of  his  saddle.  Burgess  galloped 
away. 

This  was  a  mark  of  confidence  —  a  mark  that  prob 
ably  would  not  have  been  given  before  the  stampede. 
Burgess  sometimes  left  his  treasure-bags  with  one  or 
the  other  of  his  partners  for  a  short  while,  but  never 
before  had  they  been  entrusted  to  one  of  the  hired 
hands.  They  were  never  even  left  in  the  wagon. 

Half  an  hour  later  Burgess  returned,  a  number  of 
men  with  him.  He  had  met  them  on  the  way.  Jess 
still  had  the  cattle  pretty  well  knotted  together;  for  he 
had  kept  riding  around  them.  The  drove  was  now 
got  in  motion.  When  it  was  at  the  road  again,  the 
morning  drive  began. 

Jess  soon  discovered  that  he  had  risen  suddenly  in 
the  estimation  of  his  employers.  Heretofore  they  had 
trusted  him  because  of  his  willingness  and  his  marvel- 


FORT  GIBSON  AND  THE  ARKANSAS     105 

ous  endurance,  but  had  distrusted  him  more  or  less  be 
cause  of  his  inexperience.  But  his  stopping  the  drove 
unaided  had  proved  that  he  could  meet  emergencies, 
however  unexpected.  From  this  time  on  he  was  called 
into  the  councils  of  the  three  partners  whenever  he  was 
present;  and  no  important  step  was  taken  in  the  man 
agement  of  the  cattle  without  asking  his  advice. 

This  added  responsibility  had  a  good  effect  upon  the 
young  cowboy.  Up  to  this  time  his  chief  interest  in 
the  cattle  had  been  the  pay  that  he  was  to  receive; 
though,  with  his  superabundance  of  energy,  the  excite 
ment  and  the  perpetual  activity  made  him  love  the 
work.  But  now,  as  the  most  trusted  of  the  drivers,  he 
began  to  feel  that  part  of  the  responsibility  of  getting 
these  steers  through  to  California  rested  upon  him. 
And  he  naturally  found  himself  looking  forward  to 
foresee  difficulties,  and  planning  ways  to  get  round 
them,  in  advance. 

One  day,  after  the  caravan  had  passed  from  the 
country  of  the  Choctaws  into  the  country  of  the  Creeks, 
Hawk  Tail,  the  Choctaw  driver,  made  the  acquaintance 
of  a  Creek  horseman  traveling  in  the  same  direction. 
They  rode  along  together,  by  the  cattle,  well  up  toward 
the  head  of  the  line,  and  for  a  time  seemed  the  best  of 
friends.  Later  Jess  heard  them  quarreling,  loudly  and 
angrily.  Sam  Patterson,  the  half-breed,  told  him  that 
they  were  quarreling  over  the  prowess  of  their  respect 
ive  ancestors. 

Soon  afterwards  those  at  the  rear  end  of  the  line 
were  startled  to  see  two  horsemen  come  tearing  by. 


io6  SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

In  the  lead  was  the  Creek,  lashing  his  horse  frantically, 
and  riding  for  life;  while  close  behind  came  Hawk 
Tail,  reaching  for  the  Creek  with  a  murderous-looking 
knife! 

They  passed  the  wagon  like  a  flash,  and  quickly  dis 
appeared  to  the  rear.  After  a  few  minutes  the  Choc- 
taw  returned. 

"Well,  Hawk  Tail,  did  you  catch  him?"  inquired 
Gregory. 

"  No  ketchee.  Creek  run  heap  fast.  Heap  big 
fraid!  "  replied  the  Indian,  with  a  sour  grin,  as  he 
passed  on  to  his  place  up  the  line.  There  was  plenty 
of  savagery  left  in  Hawk  Tail,  if  he  did  wear  the 
white  man's  dress. 

At  last,  just  as  the  sun  was  setting  one  day,  the  long 
procession,  while  marching  across  a  prairie  country, 
came  in  sight  of  the  timber  skirting  the  Arkansas 
River.  The  party  were  approaching  the  river  but  a 
few  miles  above  Fort  Gibson.  Here,  or  somewhere  in 
the  vicinity,  they  would  remain  for  several  days,  till 
they  could  outfit  for  their  long  journey  through  the 
wilderness.  They  were  now  somewhat  further  from 
their  destination  than  when  starting  from  their  camp  on 
Little  River.  For  they  had  been  traveling  slightly  east 
of  north.  From  here  on  their  course  would  lead  to 
ward  the  northwest. 

Besides  being  a  military  post,  Fort  Gibson  was  an 
outfitting  point  for  all  the  Western  country,  and  sup 
plies  of  every  kind  could  be  obtained  here  in  abundance. 
The  partners  expected  to  buy  several  wagon-loads  of 


IN   THE    LEAD    WAS   THE    CREEK  —  RIDING   FOR    LIFE. 


FORT  GIBSON  AND  THE  ARKANSAS     107 

flour,  bacon  and  similar  commodities,  with  wagons  to 
haul  them  in,  and  hire  teamsters  for  the  wagons.  Here 
they  would  also  arm  their  cowboys  for  the  months  of 
travel  through  a  country  swarming  with  hostile  Indians. 


CHAPTER  XI 

A  WILD  NIGHT  RIDE 

"  SAM,  did  you  ever  see  as  many  cattle  on  one 
prairie?"  Jess  called  out  to  the  half-breed,  who  was 
riding  on  the  other  side  of  the  marching  line.  The 
whole  country  ahead  of  them  appeared  spotted  over 
with  grazing  herds  and  mounted  herders.  "  Why  do 
you  suppose  so  many  outfits  are  hanging  up  here?  " 

;<  Waiting  to  cross  the  river,  I'd  guess.  The  Arkan 
sas  must  be  on  a  boom  after  all  these  rains." 

"  Do  you  suppose  they're  lying  by  for  it  to  run 
down?" 

'  They  must  be.  I  can't  think  of  anything  else  that 
would  keep  so  many  of  them  camping  around  here." 

'' Well,  it's  a  long,  long  river;  heads  in  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  I  recollect.  I'd  hate  to  think  we've  got 
to  sit  down  on  the  bank  till  the  high  water  runs  by. 
Burgess  would  be  frantic." 

"  The  Arkansas  is  pretty  wide  here  at  Fort  Gibson. 
If  it's  very  high,  we  may  have  trouble  ourselves.  We 
don't  want —  Is  that  Burgess  waving  at  us?  " 

"  Yes,  it  is.  He's  going  to  camp  before  we  get  in 
among  all  those  droves.  And  I'm  glad  of  it.  A  wise 
idea,  that." 

Jess  galloped  away  till  he  was  ahead  of  the  leaders, 
then  turned  them  out  of  the  road.  Now  they  promptly 

108 


A  WILD  NIGHT  RIDE  109 

fell  to  cropping  the  grass.  The  cowboy  sat  quietly 
on  his  grazing  horse,  watching  the  cattle  scatter  over 
the  prairie. 

The  wagon  kept  on  along  the  road  for  several  hun 
dred  yards,  following  Burgess,  and  finally  camped  in 
a  grove  by  a  little  stream.  Two  cowboys  remained 
with  the  cattle,  to  keep  them  from  scattering  too  much. 
The  others  busied  themselves  with  catching  fresh 
horses  for  the  night-herding. 

Scarcely  had  the  wagon  stopped  when  a  horseman 
came  by  and  halted  a  few  minutes  to  talk  with  Bur 
gess  and  Granny.  He  proved  to  be  a  cowboy,  from 
one  of  the  neighboring  camps.  Not  long  after  he  had 
gone,  the  Bar-Circle  hands  began  to  come  in. 

The  horses  that  had  been  ridden  during  the  after 
noon  were  unsaddled,  the  saddles  being  thrown  down 
near  the  fire  and  the  horses  turned  loose.  First  every 
one  of  the  wet-backed,  saddle-marked  animals 
lay  down  on  the  grass  and  rolled.  Then  they  got  up 
and  went  grazing  and  snorting  toward  the  herd.  The 
cowboys  were  now  scattering  over  the  prairie  around 
the  camp,  driving  down  stakes  to  lariat  their  newly- 
caught  horses  to. 

The  party  had  traveled  later  than  usual  to-day,  and 
it  was  thick  dusk  when  all  the  men  gathered  around 
the  camp-fire,  ready  for  supper. 

"  Well,  Mr.  Burgess,  when  do  we  cross  the  river?  " 
inquired  Dick  McCarty,  while  they  were  waiting. 

"That's  hard  telling,  Dick,"  answered  the  Cali- 
fornian.  "  A  cowboy  from  another  camp  stopped  here 


no  SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

a  little  while  ago,  and  he  told  me  some  rather  dis 
couraging  news.  He  says  between  twenty  and  thirty 
outfits  are  herding  their  cattle  on  this  prairie,  waiting 
to  get  across." 

;<  Why  don't  they  crossj  then?  What  are  they  wait 
ing  for?  "  demanded  Johnson. 

'  That's  easier  said  than  done,"  Burgess  replied. 
14  The  Arkansas  is  higher  than  it  has  been  for  many 
years,  that  cowboy  told  me.  It's  bank-full  everywhere, 
and  out  of  its  banks  in  most  places.  It's  so  very  wide 
that  cattle  won't  attempt  to  swim  it;  and  they  won't 
swim  it  unless  they're  forced  to.  The  cowboys  can't 
do  anything  with  them  on  their  horses  out  in  the  river. 
There  are  some  Indians  here  that  are  expert  canoemen. 
They  can  usually  take  a  drove  across.  But  they  charge 
big  prices." 

"  Big  prices  or  little  prices,  we'd  better  hire  them," 
remarked  Gregory.  "  It's  apt  to  be  the  cheapest  in  the 
long  run." 

"  Phil,  the  trouble  with  them  is  that  they're  engaged 
two  or  three  weeks  ahead,"  answered  Burgess. 
"  They  can't  cross  more  than  two  droves  a  day  — 
sometimes  not  more  than  one,  when  a  drove  breaks  up, 
and  the  cattle  start  off  in  different  directions.  And 
nearly  every  outfit  here  has  them  engaged.  That's 
what  all  these  droves  are  doing  here  —  waiting  for 
their  turns  to  cross.  The  Arkansas  has  been  booming 
for  several  weeks,  and  it  may  keep  booming  for  several 
weeks  longer." 

"  We  can't  think  of  hanging  around  here  a  month 


A  WILD  NIGHT  RIDE  in 

or  so.  We've  got  too  far  to  go  —  altogether  too  far 
to  travel,"  declared  Johnson.  "  If  we  can't  get  the 
canoemen  in  two  or  three  days,  we'll  have  to  cross  with 
out  canoes.  That's  all  there  is  to  that." 

"  If  we  can,"  put  in  Gregory. 

"  Oh,  I've  no  doubt  we  can  make  it  across  somehow, 
if  we  try  hard  enough,"  Burgess  said.  "  But  we  may 
have  trouble  —  we  may  have  a  world  of  trouble  while 
we're  about  it." 

"  It's  little  we  care  for  trouble,"  laughed  Jess. 
"  We've  had  scads  of  that  already.  Ought  to  be  used 
to  it  by  this  time." 

'  That's  right.  Trouble  and  we  are  boon  com 
panions,"  Gregory  observed,  with  a  smile. 

'  Yes,  we  certainly  have  had  a  time  of  it  on  this 
trip,"  growled  Johnson.  "  We've  splashed  and  waded 
and  swum  nearly  every  step  of  the  way  from  Red  River 
here.  I  never  saw  as  much  water  fall  in  the  same 
length  of  time,  it  seems  to  me  —  never  in  all  my  days." 

"  And  the  clouds  look  like  we  might  be  in  for  an 
other  good  soaker  to-night,"  Dick  McCarthy  spoke  up, 
pointing  with  his  broiling-stick  to  some  black  masses 
that  were  accumulating  in  the  northwest. 

"  Let's  hope  we  may  get  at  least  a  shower,  boys," 
said  Gregory,  jovially,  as  he  impaled  a  slice  of  beef 
on  a  dogwood  stick  and  held  it  over  the  fire  to  broil. 
"  I  haven't  been  wet  since  yesterday.  Don't  feel  quite 
right  without  one  wetting  a  day.  Two  would  be  bet 
ter.  I'm  turning  to  a  turtle.  Webs  will  soon  begin 
to  grow  between  my  fingers." 


H2  SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

"  Our  cattle  ought  to  be  able  to  swim  the  Arkansas, 
or  the  Mississippi,  or  any  other  river.  They've  had 
plenty  of  practice,"  remarked  Jess. 

"  There's  one  consolation,"  Burgess  suggested. 
"  This  wet  spell  can't  last  forever,  and  we  ought  to  be 
almost  through  it.  It  will  be  dry  enough  when  it  does 
get  dry.  You  can  count  on  that." 

Supper  was  ready  when  Granny's  big  skillet  of  bread 
had  baked  and  his  coffee  had  boiled.  The  men  pre 
ferred  to  cook  meat  for  themselves,  broiling  it  on  long 
sticks  held  over  the  fire.  When  the  beef  was  ready 
to  eat,  the  skillet-lid  was  taken  off,  the  coffee-pot  placed 
within  reach,  and  the  tin-cups  passed  around.  Then 
the  meal  proceeded. 

For  an  hour  or  so  after  supper  the  whole  party  sat 
or  lounged  around  the  camp-fire,  a  few  of  them  smok 
ing,  the  others  picking  their  teeth  with  grass-stems. 
One  after  another,  as  usual,  they  took  turns  at  telling 
stories.  All  of  them  had  had  much  interesting  expe 
rience,  in  different  parts  of  the  world. 

When  at  last  the  circle  broke  up  for  the  night,  the 
men  got  their  blankets  out  of  the  wagon,  rolled  them 
selves  in  them,  and  lay  down  on  the  ground  to  sleep. 
Some  were  in  the  tent,  and  two  were  under  the  big 
wagon;  but  most  of  them  were  in  front  of  the  camp- 
fire.  Jess  was  one  of  those  who  slept  by  the  fire. 

At  two  o'clock  he  felt  somebody  shaking  him,  and 
sat  up  quickly.  It  was  now  his  turn  to  go  on  herd- 
duty  till  daylight. 

He  was  soon  up  and  dressed.     With  his  saddle  in 


A  WILD  NIGHT  RIDE  113 

one  hand  and  his  bridle  in  the  other,  he  started  out  in 
search  of  his  horse.  The  sky  was  now  thickly  over 
cast  with  clouds  and,  in  the  absence  of  the  moon,  the 
night  was  very  dark.  There  were  occasional  light 
ning-flashes,  followed  by  the  rather  mild  rumblings  of 
thunder. 

Guided  by  the  lightning,  Jess  soon  found  his  horse, 
which  was  staked  not  far  away.  While  girting  on  his 
saddle,  he  heard  Burgess  calling  him;  and  after  mount 
ing  he  rode  back  to  camp. 

He  and  Burgess  discussed  the  situation,  and  decided 
not  to  call  out  any  more  hands  for  the  present.  There 
would  be  time  enough  for  that  if  a  storm  set  in.  All 
the  men  had  lost  much  sleep  recently,  and  it  was  impor 
tant  that  they  be  allowed  to  rest. 

So  Jess  rode  away,  and  soon  reached  the  cattle. 
Sam  Patterson,  who  would  be  on  duty  with  him,  was 
already  out  there  —  somewhere.  The  lightning- 
flashes  showed  the  cattle,  all  lying  down.  They  also 
revealed  the  half-breed  sitting  quietly  on  his  horse. 

"  Good  night  for  a  stampede,  Sam  —  don't  you 
think  so?  "  Jess  inquired,  as  he  rode  toward  the  other 
cowboy.  Only  when  the  lightning  flashed  could  they 
see  each  other. 

'*  Well,  yes,  it  may  be.  The  cattle  seem  quiet 
enough,  though.  They  don't  show  any  signs  of  being 
frightened,  or  even  nervous." 

"  They  may  not  show  any  advance  signs.  Often 
they  don't,  I'm  told.  But  when  they  once  make  a 
break  there'll  be  signs  enough,  I  guess." 


ii4  SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

The  conversation  was  kept  up  for  several  minutes. 
At  length  the  two  cowboys  rode  away,  in  different 
directions.  When  on  opposite  sides  of  the  herd,  they 
stopped  and  sat  quietly  in  their  saddles,  allowing  their 
horses  to  graze.  The  night  was  so  dark  that  they 
would  not  attempt  to  keep  riding  around  the  cattle, 
as  was  the  custom  of  those  on  herd-duty. 

Half  an  hour  dragged  by,  and  still  the  two  night- 
herders  were  sitting  quietly  on  their  horses.  The  black 
clouds  still  hung  low,  and  the  lightnings  kept  flashing 
at  regular  intervals,  but  the  threatened  storm  had  not 
yet  set  in.  Sometimes  the  herders  whistled  and  some 
times  they  sang  to  quiet  the  cattle,  though  there  seemed 
little  need  of  such  precautions  now. 

Soon  occasional  rain-drops  began  to  patter  down. 
Jess  turned  his  coat-collar  up  at  first.  But  the  rain 
drops  thickened  till  they  became  a  slow,  steady  drizzle. 
Now  he  untied  his  blanket  from  behind  his  saddle. 
After  unrolling  it,  he  folded  it  in  halves,  then  fastened 
it  around  his  neck  and  shoulders  with  a  blanket-pin. 
Looking  across  the  herd  when  the  lightning  flashed,  he 
could  see  that  Sam  was  protecting  himself  from  the 
drizzle  in  the  same  way. 

With  the  beginning  of  the  rain  the  steers  commenced 
to  get  up,  and  soon  most  of  them  could  be  seen  stand 
ing  quietly.  Jess  spread  out  his  blanket,  so  that  it 
covered  himself  and  much  of  his  horse.  Then  he  sat 
and  waited  for  daylight.  The  horse  stood  motionless 
now,  and  the  rain-drops  pattered  softly,  steadily  on  his 
rider's  hat  and  blanket.  Finally,  nothing  occurring  to 


AWAY  THEY  ALL  WENT  AT  HEADLONG  SPEED. 


A  WILD  NIGHT  RIDE  115 

break  the  monotony,  Jess  fell  into  a  doze.  He  sat 
erect,  but  his  head  bent  forward  till  his  chin  rested  on 
his  breast. 

How  long  he  dozed  he  never  knew.  But  when  he 
awoke  the  thunder  of  hoofs  and  frightened  bellowing 
filled  his  ears,  and  his  horse  was  bounding  along  under 
him !  Wide  awake  on  the  instant,  he  realized  at  once 
that  the  cattle  had  stampeded. 

More  than  that,  they  had  come  straight  toward  him. 
If  his  horse  had  been  as  heavy-eyed  as  he  himself, 
both  might  have  been  surprised  and  run  down  and 
trampled  to  death.  But  the  horse  had  taken  to  flight 
at  the  first  movement  of  the  cattle,  and  was  running 
for  life  before  them. 

In  the  pitchlike  darkness  Jess  could  see  nothing;  all 
his  hopes  of  safety  depended  upon  the  keener  sight  or 
instinct  of  his  horse.  Soon  came  a  lightning-flash,  and 
by  it  he  could  make  out  only  open  prairie  ahead. 
Turning  in  the  saddle,  he  waited  for  another  flash.  It 
came  at  length  and  revealed,  seemingly,  all  those 
twenty-five  hundred  steers  coming  at  a  mad  speed  be 
hind  him !  Now  the  terrified  cowboy  not  only  let  his 
horse  go,  but  urged  him  on.  Swift-footed  destruction 
was  on  their  trail. 

Away  they  all  went  at  headlong  speed,  the  lone  cow 
boy  riding  a  race  with  death,  and  the  thousands  of 
panic-stricken  steers  bellowing  at  his  horse's  heels. 
And  through  it  all  and  above  it  all  could  be  heard  the 
loud,  wild  ringing  of  the  bell-steer's  bell. 

For  a  time  Jess,  like  the  nag  he  bestrode,  was  intent 


n6  SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

only  upon  keeping  ahead  of  the  horned  avalanche  be 
hind  him.  He  realized  that  if  his  horse  should  miss 
his  footing  once,  there  would  be  nothing  to  keep  both 
horse  and  rider  from  being  trampled  to  death.  But 
the  horse,  fully  aware  of  the  deadly  peril  pursuing  him, 
did  not  intend  to  stumble  if  he  could  help  it.  On  he 
bounded  tirelessly. 

Every  time  the  lightning  flashed,  Jess  tried  to  make 
out  what  was  ahead  of  him.  Fortunately  nothing 
could  be  seen  here  but  level  prairie.  But  there  was  no 
telling  when  they  might  come  to  a  very  different  kind 
of  country. 

Soon  the  young  cowboy  began  to  wonder  if  he  could 
not  turn  aside  and  escape  from  before  the  cattle.  But 
that  he  would  not  dare  attempt  till  he  could  get  further 
ahead. 

His  horse  was  gaining  a  little,  and  he  urged  him  to 
greater  speed.  Soon  he  was  gratified  to  see,  when  the 
lightning  shone  out,  that  a  hundred  yards  or  more 
separated  him  from  the  foremost  steers.  Now  he  was 
pulling  on  one  rein  slightly,  intending  to  turn  to  one 
side  and  gradually  get  out  of  the  cattle's  course,  when 
suddenly  he  felt  the  horse  plunging  downward  in  the 
darkness.  The  next  moment  both  horse  and  rider 
seemed  to  be  turning  a  somersault,  flying  headlong 
through  the  air ! 

The  instant  he  felt  the  horse  going  down,  Jess,  with 
an  instinct  for  self-preservation,  threw  himself  out  of 
the  saddle  and  to  one  side.  That  was  to  keep  the 
horse  from  falling  upon  him  —  something  that  would 


A  WILD  NIGHT  RIDE  117 

otherwise  inevitably  happen  if  the  animal  turned  a 
somersault. 

As  afterwards  appeared,  the  horse  had  come  in  his 
flight  to  a  shallow  prairie  ravine,  with  an  upright  bank 
scarcely  a  yard  high  on  the  near  side,  and  only  a  grad 
ual  upward  slope  on  the  far  side.  The  flying  horse 
had  merely  plunged  over  the  low  bank  in  the  dark. 

Whether  the  animal  really  turned  a  somersault  or 
not,  Jess  never  knew.  He  himself  landed  in  some 
loose,  water-washed  sand  in  the  dry  bottom  of  the  ra 
vine,  where  he  turned  several  somersaults  —  went  roll 
ing  over  and  over!  He  was  severely  jarred  and  some 
what  stunned,  but  not  seriously  hurt. 

Just  as  he  was  leaping  to  his  feet,  the  lightning 
flashed  again,  and  he  caught  a  glimpse  of  his  horse, 
already  up  and  running  away.  But  the  same  flash  re 
vealed  something  else  —  hundreds  of  steers  not  many 
yards  from  that  low  bank,  and  rushing  straight  toward 
him! 

Fortunately  the  same  glance  that  showed  him  the 
steers  made  the  discovery  that  the  bank  was  a  low 
ledge  of  rock,  with  a  slight  hollow  under  it. 

Realizing  instinctively  that  the  steers  must  soon  be 
coming  down  upon  him,  he  made  a  dive  on  his  "all- 
fours  "  for  that  ledge.  The  hollow  underneath  was 
scarcely  a  foot  deep,  and  he  had  barely  time  to  en 
sconce  himself  in  it  when  the  cattle  came  plunging  into 
the  ravine! 

Some  of  the  steers  fell,  bellowing  more  loudly  in 
their  terror;  but  the  bank  was  low,  and  they  quickly 


n8  SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

leaped  up  and  went  bounding  on,  worse  frightened 
than  before.  Others  seemed  to  plunge  from  the  bank 
without  falling,  and  kept  straight  on. 

To  the  badly  frightened  Jess,  squeezing  himself 
desperately  into  the  shallow  space  under  the  rocky 
shelf,  it  seemed  that  every  one  of  those  twenty-five 
hundred  longhorns  passed  exactly  over  him.  The  cat 
tle  had  got  somewhat  strung  out,  the  slower  ones  drop 
ping  to  the  rear,  and  they  must  have  been  two  or  three 
minutes  in  getting  by. 

At  last,  however,  they  had  all  gone,  and  the  thunder 
from  their  thousands  of  hoofs  soon  began  to  die  away 
in  the  distance.  Fearing  that  there  might  be  some 
stragglers  still  to  come,  Jess  dared  not  emerge  from 
his  shelter  for  a  few  minutes  longer. 

When  at  last  he  did  venture  out,  he  waited  for  a 
lightning-flash,  half  expecting  to  see  several  dead  or 
crippled  steers.  But  the  bank  was  low,  and  extended 
only  a  few  yards  above  and  below,  and  all  had  escaped 
unhurt. 

The  drizzle  was  still  falling,  and  the  night  was  as 
black  as  ever.  Doubting  very  much  if  he  could  find 
his  way  back  to  camp  through  the  thick  darkness,  Jess, 
after  rearranging  his  blanket,  started  on  in  pursuit  of 
the  thundering  hoofs  and  the  loudly  ringing  bell. 


CHAPTER  XII 
IN  A  GRIZZLY'S  JAWS 

FAINTER  and  still  fainter  grew  the  trampling  and  the 
bell-ringing,  until  only  now  and  then  could  they  be 
heard.  Jess  kept  following,  at  a  trot,  though  he  some 
times  wondered  if  it  would  not  have  been  wiser  to  go 
back.  He  had  dropped  to  a  slow  walk,  and  was 
thinking  seriously  of  trying  to  retrace  his  steps,  when 
he  heard  a  nicker  but  a  few  yards  away. 

Now  he  stood  still,  waiting  for  the  lightning. 
When  at  length  it  flashed,  he  saw  a  saddled  and  bridled 
horse  —  his  own.  In  some  way  the  animal  had  got 
out  from  before  the  cattle,  and  had  stopped  and  gone 
to  grazing.  He  was  still  frightened  and  nervous, 
however,  and  as  his  master  approached  came  to  meet 
him  —  something  very  unusual  for  a  cow-horse. 

Mounted  again,  Jess  was  soon  riding  on,  as  fast  as 
he  dared  in  the  dark,  in  pursuit  of  the  fleeing  steers. 
All  that  he  had  to  guide  him  was  the  bell,  and  that 
could  barely  be  heard  at  first;  but  gradually  it  be 
came  more  distinct.  Now  he  inferred  that  the  cattle 
had  stopped.  But  they  had  only  dropped  to  a  slower 
gait  and  were  still  moving.  The  rain  had  ceased  and 
day  was  breaking  when  he  overtook  them. 

They  were  going  at  a  walk,  and  he  rode  round  till 
he  had  got  ahead  of  them,  and  stopped  them.  Soon 


120  SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

he  discovered  that  scarcely  half  of  the  big  drove  were 
here.  The  others  had  doubtless  split  off,  all  at  once 
or  a  few  at  a  time,  and  gone  in  different  directions. 
Sam  Patterson  was  not  to  be  seen.  If  he  had  ridden 
with  the  stampeding  herd,  he  must  have  stayed  with 
some  of  the  missing  steers. 

Knowing  that  other  hands  would  come  to  his  assist 
ance  sooner  or  later,  Jess  made  no  attempt  to  drive  the 
cattle  back  to  camp.  All  he  did  was  to  keep  them 
under  loose  herd. 

The  sun  was  shining  when  Gregory  and  three  of  the 
cowboys  came,  following  the  well-beaten  trail.  They 
were  riding  at  a  gallop. 

"  Have  you  seen  anything  of  Sam?  "  was  Jess's  first 
inquiry. 

"  Not  a  thing.  But  he's  all  right,  I  guess.  The  trail 
shows  that  steers  kept  splitting  off,  a  few  hundred  at 
a  time.  He  must  have  ridden  with  some  of  the  other 
bunches,"  Gregory  said.  And  his  surmise  afterwards 
proved  to  be  correct.  Other  hands  were  trailing  the 
other  cattle. 

The  five  men  now  rounded  up  the  grazing  steers 
and  started  them  back  toward  camp.  The  distance 
was  more  than  ten  miles,  and  the  sun  was  near  the 
meridian  when  they  arrived  there. 

One  bunch  of  two  or  three  hundred  head  had  al 
ready  been  brought  in;  and  at  intervals  during  the 
afternoon  other  bunches,  some  larger  and  some  smaller, 
returned  from  their  wanderings.  With  one  of  the 
largest  came  the  half-breed,  who  had  almost  as  excit- 


IN  A  GRIZZLY'S  JAWS  121 

ing  a  story  to  tell  of  that  wild  ride  through  the  dark 
as  had  Jess. 

There  was  much  hard  riding  during  this  day  and  the 
next.  Not  long  before  sunset  of  the  second  day  the 
cattle  were  counted,  and  all  the  steers  were  found  to 
be  under  herd  again. 

The  Bar-Circle  party  now  felt  much  relieved  as  they 
gathered  around  their  cheerful  camp-fire  at  nightfall. 
The  night  was  cool  to  chilliness,  and  the  glow  and 
crackle  of  that  blazing  pile  of  logs  looked  very  at 
tractive. 

After  supper  the  whole  party,  except  the  two  night- 
herders,  lingered  around  the  fire,  as  usual.  Most  of 
them  sat  on  their  saddle-blankets  and  leaned  back 
against  their  saddles.  Burgess  reclined  with  one  hand 
on  those  precious  treasure-bags.  Soon,  as  often  hap 
pened,  the  conversation  drifted  round  to  gold-mining. 
After  his  partners  had  entertained  the  circle  with 
many  of  their  ups  and  downs  in  California,  Burgess  re 
lated  some  of  his.  Finally  Jess  interrupted  him : 

"  Mr.  Burgess,  you  once  started  to  tell  us  about  your 
adventure  with  the  grizzly,  but  something  stopped  you. 
Why  not  let  us  have  that  to-night?  " 

The  Californian  gazed  thoughtfully  into  the  fire  for 
a  few  moments,  then  began  his  story.  After  some  ex 
planation  of  previous  happenings,  he  said: 

"  One  morning,  while  we  were  at  the  diggings  near 
the  South  Fork  of  American  River,  word  was  brought 
to  camp  that  fresh  bear-signs  had  been  discovered  on 
some  brush-covered  hills  a  few  miles  away.  There 


122  SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

was  a  meat-famine  in  the  camp,  and  a  lot  of  us  armed 
ourselves  and  started  out  to  see  what  we  could  find. 
We  suspected  the  bear  of  being  a  grizzly,  and  there 
was  a  good-sized  party  of  us  —  nine  in  all,  I  believe  — 
Phil  Gregory  and  I  and  seven  others. 

"  After  getting  among  the  hills  and  brush,  we  were 
cautious  enough  to  keep  together  for  a  good  while. 
But  when  we  had  been  beating  the  thickets  for  an  hour 
or  two  without  finding  any  game,  we  began  to  scatter. 
I  soon  wandered  off  by  myself,  and  most  of  the  others 
did  the  same. 

"  I  had  rambled  several  hundred  yards  from  the 
rest  of  my  party,  when  I  came  to  a  big  thicket  and 
pushed  into  it.  I  kept  working  my  way  in,  and  soon 
halted  in  a  small  opening,  near  the  middle  of  the 
thicket.  While  I  was  standing  there,  looking  about, 
the  bushes  rustled  behind  me,  and  I  turned  to  find  my 
self  face  to  face  with  a  huge  grizzly  bear  —  the  most 
horrible-looking  monster  I  have  ever  seen,  or  ever 
shall  see,  I  hope. 

"  For  a  moment  or  two  I  stood  paralyzed  with  hor 
ror,  unable  to  move  an  inch.  But  I  quickly  came  to 
myself;  for  with  an  awful,  blood-freezing  roar  of  rage 
the  monster  rushed  straight  at  me !  His  hair  seemed 
all  on  end,  and  his  mouth  was  open  and  every  tooth 
displayed.  I  threw  up  my  gun  and  fired  a  hasty  shot, 
then  turned  to  run  for  my  life. 

"  But  the  grizzly  was  too  close.  Before  I  could  take 
a  dozen  steps,  he  was  upon  me!  With  one  blow  of 
his  great  paw  he  struck  me  to  the  ground!  These 


IN  A  GRIZZLY'S  JAWS  123 

scars  on  my  neck  are  where  his  claws  first  touched  me. 
They  went  down  my  back,  tearing  open  my  clothes, 
and  every  claw  plowing  its  way  through  my  flesh ! 

"  But  that  was  only  the  beginning.  Scarcely  had 
the  monster  struck  me  down,  when  he  seized  me  by  the 
left  thigh,  his  teeth  crushing  through  flesh  and  bone. 
Then  he  shook  me  in  his  rage  —  shook  me  as  a  puppy 
shakes  a  rag  —  shook  me  as  a  terrier  shakes  a  rat  — 
shook  me  till  all  the  breath  was  out  of  my  body! 
Again  and  again  he  shook  me.  He  seemed  determined 
to  shake  the  very  life  out  of  me. 

"  At  last  he  put  me  down.  Fearfully  wounded  as 
I  was,  and  dazed  as  I  felt,  I  had  sense  enough  left 
to  realize  my  awful  situation.  In  fact,  after  I  had 
had  time  to  recover  somewhat,  I've  never  been  more 
keenly  alert.  The  grizzly  was  standing  over  me, 
watching  closely  for  any  signs  of  remaining  life.  If  I 
had  moved  an  inch,  he  would  have  bitten  me  through 
and  through  instantly.  I've  no  doubt  of  that.  But 
I  lay  as  motionless  as  a  corpse. 

"  There  was  a  six-shooter  at  my  belt,  and  a  knife 
too;  and  the  bear  was  close  enough  for  me  to  have 
used  either.  But  I  dared  not  move  a  finger  to  get 
them  out.  And  even  if  I  could  have  drawn  them,  I 
wouldn't  have  dared  to  try  to  let  the  life  out  of  that 
huge,  shaggy  body  with  knife  or  pistol.  The  monster 
was  as  big  as  an  ox,  not  in  my  imagination,  but  in 
reality.  He  wasn't  so  tall  as  one  of  our  Texas  oxen, 
but  he  looked  broader. 

"  So  I  lay  still  —  very,  very  still ;  as  still  as  a  man  can 


i24  SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

only  when  he  knows  that  his  life  depends  on  it.  I 
could  hear  men  calling  to  one  another  in  the  distance, 
and  understood  that  the  other  hunters  had  heard  my 
shot  and  were  coming.  They  easily  guessed  what  the 
shot  meant,  but  I  had  been  too  far  away  for  them  to 
locate  me  exactly  by  the  report. 

;'  While  they  were  still  several  hundred  yards  from 
my  thicket,  they  kept  calling  to  one  another  to  know 
who  had  fired.  Later,  after  all  had  got  together,  they 
found  out  who  was  missing  and  began  to  call  me  by 
name.  Of  course,  situated  as  I  was,  I  didn't  dare  an 
swer  or  make  any  signal.  The  grizzly  was  still  stand 
ing  over  me,  and  I  was  watching  him  from  under 
nearly  closed  eyelids.  Eager  as  I  was  to  have  my 
friends  find  me,  I  could  only  wait  and  listen,  and  hope 
and  pray  that  they  would  come  before  the  monster 
took  it  into  his  head  to  give  me  a  finishing  bite. 

"  Soon  I  could  hear  the  hunters  beating  the  near-by 
thickets,  and  they  kept  calling  to  me  and  to  one  an 
other  as  they  moved  about.  How  I  longed  to  shout 
to  them,  to  shriek  aloud  to  let  them  know  where  I  was 
and  the  awful  death  that  hung  over  me.  But  I  dared 
not  open  my  mouth;  I  dared  not  so  much  as  draw  a 
long  breath. 

"  As  my  friends  drew  nearer,  I  could  easily  tell  that 
the  bear,  too,  was  listening.  Soon  he  uttered  a  growl 
—  a  low  but  angry  growl.  The  nearness  of  the 
hunters  irritated  him.  He  resented  their  coming,  as 
he  had  mine,  as  an  intrusion  upon  his  privacy. 

"  But  instead  of  coming  to  the  thicket  I  was  in,  the 


IN  A  GRIZZLY'S  JAWS  125 

hunters  passed  it  and  began  to  move  away.  Receiving 
no  answer  from  me,  they  took  it  for  granted  that  I 
was  not  in  hearing  distance. 

"  Now  my  heart  sank  like  lead  within  me.  With 
help  scarcely  a  stone's  throw  off,  I  must  lie  there  in  my 
helplessness  and  let  them  go  away.  It  was  horrible  — 
horrible  beyond  the  power  of  language  to  describe. 
But  a  shout  or  even  a  word  from  me  would  have  been 
my  death-signal. 

"  The  whole  country  there  was  dotted  over  with 
thickets,  most  of  them  not  many  yards  apart.  My 
friends,  all  together  now,  were  moving  from  thicket 
to  thicket.  But  they  had  missed  the  right  one. 

u  As  the  hunting  party  got  further  and  further  away, 
I  despaired  of  any  help  from  that  source.  But  I  be 
lieved  that  if  I  could  only  keep  still  long  enough,  the 
brute  would  go  off  and  leave  me. 

"  When  the  hunters  had  moved  so  far  that  I  could 
scarcely  hear  them,  the  grizzly  relaxed  his  listening, 
angry  attitude.  But  instead  of  starting  off,  as  I  had 
hoped,  he  put  his  nose  down  and  began  to  smell  me. 
And  maybe  you  can  imagine  a  little  part  of  the  horror 
I  felt  when  I  tell  you  that  something  in  the  monster's 
actions  warned  me  that  he  was  thinking  of  eating  me 
then  and  there ! 

"  Nobody  who  has  never  been  in  a  similar  situation 
can  begin  to  understand  what  my  feelings  were  as  I 
lay  helpless  and  felt  that  big  nose  gliding  up  and  down 
my  body,  in  a  fond,  eager  way,  and  sniffing  at  me 
hungrily.  It  was  like  a  cat  running  her  nose  over  a 


126  SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

fat  rat  that  she  has  killed,  trying  to  decide  where  to 
take  the  first  bite. 

"  That  nose  kept  gliding  over  my  body  till  it  came 
to  my  head.  Then  I  could  feel  the  monster's  hot 
breath  against  my  face.  Soon  the  nose  glided  on  to 
the  wound  on  my  neck  and  back,  and  the  bear  began  to 
lick  my  blood  greedily.  He  must  have  been  very 
hungry. 

"  But  I  had  no  intention  of  lying  there  and  meekly 
allowing  myself  to  be  devoured  alive.  Weak  as  I  was 
—  and  my  thigh  was  bleeding  all  the  time  —  I 
promptly  resolved  to  make  at  least  a  show  of  resist 
ance.  Even  if  I  couldn't  save  my  life,  I  hoped  to  give 
the  bear  a  death-wound  while  he  was  killing  me.  My 
bullet  had  wounded  him  slightly,  in  the  shoulder,  but 
only  enough  to  irritate  him.  Up  to  this  time  I  had 
tried  to  remain  as  motionless  as  a  dead  man.  But 
now  my  right  hand  began  to  steal  toward  the  handle 
of  my  six-shooter.  I  had  not  strength  enough  left  to 
use  a  knife. 

"  But  the  movement  was  promptly  detected,  and  the 
monster  stopped  licking  my  bloody  neck  and  roared  a 
deep,  warning  growl  right  into  my  ear.  My  blood 
froze  in  my  veins  —  froze  with  horror. 

"  Instantly  I  turned  to  a  corpse  again.  The  grizzly 
stood  over  me,  waiting  for  another  movement  to  con 
firm  his  suspicions  that  I  was  still  alive.  What  he 
might  have  done  soon  I  shudder  to  think.  But  while 
he  was  still  watching  me,  in  a  threatening  attitude,  his 
attention  was  diverted  by  a  shout  not  far  away.  My 


IN  A  GRIZZLY'S  JAWS  127 

friends  had  turned  and  seemed  to  be  coming  back. 

"  Now  my  hopes  sprang  up  once  more,  and  I  aban 
doned  my  desperate  resolve  to  try  to  kill  the  bear  my 
self.  If  I  only  dared  utter  a  cry  for  help !  But  per 
haps  the  hunters  would  come  to  the  right  thicket  this 
time. 

"  The  grizzly  was  fully  aware  that  enemies  were  ap 
proaching.  He  raised  his  head  and  stood  waiting  and 
listening.  Closer  and  closer  came  the  hunters,  still 
moving  from  thicket  to  thicket.  Soon  the  huge  brute 
standing  over  me  began  to  growl  and  show  signs  of 
anger.  Now  I  lay  as  nearly  motionless  as  possible, 
lest  he  should  vent  his  rage  on  me. 

"  Gradually,  while  I  waited  and  listened  with  awful 
anxiety,  my  friends  drew  nearer  and  nearer,  till  they 
were  at  the  outer  edge  of  my  thicket.  The  bushes 
were  high  enough  to  conceal  the  bear,  and  I  dreaded 
that  some  of  the  hunters  might  plunge  in  and  get 
killed.  Yet  I  dared  not  open  my  mouth  to  save  them. 

"  But  there  was  a  path  and  a  narrow  open  way  lead 
ing  into  the  thicket  —  the  path  by  which  I  myself  had 
entered  —  and  one  of  the  hunters  followed  it  in  till 
he  caught  a  glimpse  of  the  bear. 

'  Here  he  is,  boys !  '  I  heard  him  sing  out.  *  He's 
a  grizzly,  and  a  whale  of  a  big  one,  if  there  ever  was 
a  big  one !  ' 

"  Exclamations  of  awe  and  horror  were  uttered  as 
different  members  of  the  party  ventured  in  far  enough 
to  catch  sight  of  the  great  beast. 

"  *  But  what  can  have  become  of  Joe?'     I  heard 


128  SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

somebody  ask.  And  pretty  soon  another  man  called 
out: 

"  '  Yonder  he  lies !  I  can  just  catch  a  glimpse  of 
him  through  the  brush !  The  grizzly  is  standing  right 
over  him !  ' 

"  And  then  somebody  else  said:  '  The  bear  has 
killed  him.  No  wonder  he  didn't  answer  when  we 
called!' 

"  '  Yes,  he's  dead.  No  doubt  about  that,  I  guess  — 
poor  Joe ! '  another  hunter  exclaimed. 

"  More  exclamations  of  horror  followed  the  dis 
covery  of  me,  as  each  took  a  peep  through  the  bushes 
at  me.  I  could  hear  every  word  distinctly;  and  yet 
with  that  monster  standing  guard  over  me,  and  now 
growling  furiously,  I  dared  not  move  or  utter  a  sound. 
Presently  somebody  said: 

"  '  Let's  get  our  guns  ready  and  take  aim  and  all  fire 
together!  ' 

"  Possibly  you  can  imagine  my  feelings  when  I  heard 
that  proposal  to  fire  a  volley  at  the  bear.  I  knew  there 
was  no  telling  how  or  where  a  party  of  excited  hunters 
would  shoot.  Instead  of  being  rescued,  I  found  my 
self  in  as  much  danger  from  my  friends  as  from  my 
enemy  the  grizzly.  And  yet  I  dared  not  speak  or 
move  or  make  any  sign;  for  the  bear  was  now  in  such 
a  rage  that  if  I  had  exhibited  the  slightest  evidence  of 
being  alive,  he  would  have  bitten  the  life  out  of  me 
then  and  there. 

"  Finally,  after  an  age  of  suspense  as  it  seemed  to 
me,  I  heard  Phil  Gregory's  voice  call  out: 


IN  A  GRIZZLY'S  JAWS  129 

"  *  Boys,  that  won't  do!  Joe  may  not  be  dead! 
We  must  get  that  "  varmint  "  away  from  him  before 
we  shoot !  ' 

"  *  Oh,  Joe's  as  dead  as  a  door-nail !  '  somebody  else 
declared.  But  the  others  agreed  with  Phil  that  it 
would  not  be  safe  to  shoot  where  there  was  any  danger 
of  hitting  me.  For  that  I  was  truly  thankful,  though 
I  dared  not  open  my  mouth  to  say  so. 

"  Now  followed  several  minutes  of  consultation 
among  the  hunters.  They  spoke  loudly,  excitedly,  and 
I  could  hear  every  word  as  plainly  as  you  boys  can 
hear  me.  All  sorts  of  plans  were  suggested.  But  at 
last  Phil  Gregory  proposed  to  enter  the  thicket  till  the 
bear  started  after  him.  Then  he  would  retreat,  and 
when  the  grizzly  had  followed  him  out  of  the  brush, 
the  other  men  would  fire  a  volley  into  the  brute. 
Everybody  promptly  pronounced  that  a  good  plan ;  and 
I  could  hear  them  discussing  the  best  place  to  stand. 

"  At  last,  when  all  were  in  position,  Phil  started  into 
the  thicket.  I  dared  not  look,  but  I  could  hear  him 
talking  to  the  men  behind  him.  And  I  knew  he  must 
be  coming  from  the  more  savage  and  furious  way  the 
grizzly  kept  growling. 

"  At  last,  when  Phil  was  not  more  than  twenty  or 
thirty  yards  away,  the  monster  poured  out  an  awful 
roar  and  made  straight  for  him! 

"  'Look  out!     Here  we  come,  boys!  '  Phil  yelled. 

And  I  raised  my  head  in  time  to  see  him  go  tearing 

through  the  brush,  with  the  grizzly  almost  at  his  heels. 

"  But  I  soon  dodged  down  again.     For  after  fol- 


130  SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

lowing  to  the  edge  of  the  thicket,  the  bear  turned  and 
came  straight  back  to  me.  And  the  first  thing  he  did 
was  to  put  down  his  head,  growling  furiously  all  the 
time,  and  run  his  big  nose  over  me  again.  I  suppose 
he  wanted  to  make  sure  that  I  was  all  there. 

"  Phil  soon  told  the  hunters  that  he  would  try  again, 
and  I  could  hear  him  coming.  Presently  the  bear  left 
me  and  made  another  charge.  But  again  he  stopped 
before  reaching  the  edge  of  the  thicket,  and  came  back 
and  stood  over  me.  He  seemed  to  think  that  the 
hunters  were  trying  to  rob  him  of  his  prey  —  as  they 
were.  And  acting  on  the  principle  that  a  man  under 
his  paw  was  worth  half  a  dozen  at  large,  he  refused 
to  be  enticed  away. 

"  While  he  was  absent  the  second  time,  I  managed 
to  draw  my  six-shooter,  and  lay  with  it  in  my  hand. 
But  I  was  so  weak  I  could  scarcely  lift  it;  and  I  had 
no  thought  of  using  it  unless  the  grizzly  should  at 
tack  me. 

"For  half  an  hour  or  longer  the  hunters  kept  try 
ing  to  toll  the  bear  out  of  the  thicket.  Again  and 
again  Phil  approached,  and  the  grizzly  always  charged 
him  promptly.  But  the  hunters  didn't  succeed  in  lur 
ing  the  bear  out  of  the  brush,  or  even  where  they  could 
get  a  clear  view  of  him.  And  the  moment  he  turned 
back  he  always  made  straight  for  me,  and  stood  over 
me  again.  He  seemed  determined  that  I,  his  intended 
dinner,  should  not  be  taken  from  him. 

"  The  big  fellow  was  in  a  fearful  rage  by  now,  and 
kept  growling  frightfully  all  the  time.  His  growls,  as 


PHIL WAS    CARRYING   A   RIFLE   IN   HIS    LEFT    HAND   AND   A   CLUB 

IN  HIS    RIGHT. 


IN  A  GRIZZLY'S  JAWS  131 

he  stood  over  me,  were  something  horrible  to  listen  to. 
I  lay  still  for  my  very  life.  If  I  had  moved  or  uttered 
a  sound,  he  would  have  crushed  or  bitten  the  life  out 
of  me.  I  haven't  a  doubt  of  that.  But  at  last  I 
heard  Phil  shout: 

"  *  Boys,  get  ready !  We  can't  fool  with  that  "  var 
mint  "  all  day!  I'm  going  to  fetch  him  out  this  time 
—  all  the  way  out !  J 

"  As  Phil  came  through  the  bushes  again,  the  bear's 
growls  grew  louder,  and  he  advanced  a  step  or  two, 
with  his  mouth  open.  Phil,  I  could  see,  was  carrying 
a  rifle  in  his  left  hand  and  a  club  in  his  right.  Pres 
ently  I  saw  him  draw  back  his  arm,  and  the  next 
moment  the  club  came  whizzing  through  the  air  and 
struck  the  bear  on  the  head ! 

"  With  an  awful  roar,  the  like  of  which  I've  never 
heard  before  or  since,  the  monster  rushed  at  him!  I 
raised  myself  to  my  elbow,  and  threw  up  my  six- 
shooter,  intending  to  give  him  a  bullet  from  the  rear 
as  he  went.  But  my  hand  was  so  unsteady,  and  Phil 
and  the  other  hunters  were  in  such  exact  range,  that 
I  dared  not  pull  the  trigger. 

"  No  stopping  at  the  edge  of  the  thicket  this  time ! 
Out  the  grizzly  burst,  and  the  moment  he  showed  him 
self  in  the  open,  there  was  a  mighty  roar !  The  whole 
party  had  fired  a  volley  into  him. 

"  Some  of  them  afterwards  admitted  to  me  that 
their  hearts  stood  still  and  their  hands  shook  with 
fright  or  excitement  at  the  first  plain  sight  of  the  great 
bear;  and  that  if  they  didn't  miss  him  it  was  because 


132  SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

his  huge  size  made  such  a  thing  well-nigh  impossible. 
'  The  volley  crippled  the  bear,  it  seems  —  broke  one 
of  his  fore  legs;  but  it  failed  to  kill  him.  Perhaps 
the  fact  that  he  was  disabled  saved  a  life  or  two.  For 
the  brute,  roaring  horribly  all  the  time,  charged  his 
enemies  with  fury,  even  on  three  legs,  and  put  them  all 
to  flight  —  scattered  them  like  so  many  rabbits ! 

"  Some  of  the  hunters  were  armed  with  double-bar 
rel  shot-guns,  and  most  of  them  carried  six-shooters, 
and  they  kept  banging  away  so  fast  that  it  sounded  to 
me  as  if  a  battle  were  raging  out  there.  The  grizzly 
was  so  big  that  it  was  almost  impossible  to  miss  him  at 
short  range,  but  nearly  fifty  shots  were  fired  into  him. 

"  Finally  the  growls  ceased  and  the  shots  ceased, 
and  pretty  soon  I  heard  somebody  say:  '  He's  dead 
at  last!  Ain't  he  a  buster,  though?  '  And  then  some 
body  else  said:  '  Now  let's  see  about  Joe!  ' 

"  But  before  they  could  get  to  me  I  had  fainted  dead 
away.  That  was  partly  from  loss  of  blood,  and  partly 
because  the  strain  I  had  been  under  was  relaxed. 

14  When  I  came  to,  I  found  myself  lying  on  a  litter, 
and  my  friends  were  carrying  me  down  to  camp. 

'*  The  grizzly  was  skinned  and  cut  up  and  weighed 
piecemeal,  and  the  boys  afterwards  told  me  he  weighed 
fourteen  hundred  pounds.  That  sounds  incredible  to 
any  one  who  never  saw  him,  but  I  could  easily  believe 
it.  As  I  said  before,  he  was  a  very  monster,  as  big  as 
an  ox. 

"  But  I  wasn't  done  with  the  grizzly  when  he  was 
killed,  nor  even  when  he  was  skinned  and  cut  to  pieces. 


IN  A  GRIZZLY'S  JAWS  133 

For  two  weeks,  which  seemed  like  two  years,  I  lay  in  a 
fever  and  delirium.  And  every  minute  of  the  two 
weeks  that  frightful  monster  stood  over  me,  sometimes 
growling  horribly,  and  always  just  on  the  point  of  de 
vouring  me.  He  was  usually  larger  than  life,  and 
sometimes  he  seemed  to  grow  and  swell  and  swell  and 
grow  till  he  loomed  up  as  big  as  a  world. 

"  There  was  a  doctor  in  the  camp  —  a  man  who  had 
practiced  medicine  at  home  —  and  he  assured  my 
friends  that  I  couldn't  possibly  get  well.  And  it  did 
take  me  a  long  time.  The  boys  had  saved  the  bear's 
skin  for  me,  but  I  wouldn't  have  it.  The  very  sight 
of  it  gave  me  the  horrors. 

"  I  didn't  need  anything  to  remind  me  of  that 
grizzly.  He  had  left  plenty  of  reminders  on  my  body 
—  marks  of  both  teeth  and  claws.  And  thanks  to 
him,  I  have  limped  —  shall  limp  from  California  to 
my  grave." 

An  unbroken,  almost  breathless  silence  had  been 
maintained  during  the  whole  of  the  thrilling  narra 
tive.  Now  a  buzz  of  conversation  broke  out,  lasting 
several  minutes.  At  length  Burgess  arose  and  took 
up  his  gold-heavy  saddle-bags.  As  he  moved  toward 
the  tent  with  them,  he  said: 

"  Let's  to  our  blankets,  boys.     We  try  the  river  to 


morrow." 


CHAPTER  XIII 

FAILURE  AFTER  FAILURE 

BUT  the  Bar-Circlers  were  not  destined  to  try  the 
Arkansas  next  day. 

Soon  after  Burgess  had  concluded  the  story  of  his 
encounter  with  the  grizzly,  and  gone  to  the  tent  to  bed, 
the  party  of  cowboys  around  the  camp-fire  broke  up 
for  the  night,  and  all  sought  sleeping  places.  A  few 
took  their  blankets  and  crawled  under  the  wagon,  but 
some  slept  in  the  tent,  and  others,  Jess  among  them, 
stretched  themselves  by  the  camp-fire.  The  night  was 
more  or  less  cloudy,  but  there  were  no  marked  indica 
tions  of  rain,  and  all  except  the  two  night-herders  were 
allowed  to  rest. 

It  was  far  along  in  the  night  when  Jess  was 
awakened.  The  first  thing  he  knew  he  was  standing 
on  his  feet.  His  eyes  were  heavy,  but  an  instinct  for 
self-preservation  had  caused  him  to  leap  up.  The 
thunder  of  countless  flying  hoofs  was  making  the  very 
air  tremble. 

The  other  men  were  either  already  up  or  getting  up. 
The  stampeded  cattle,  not  theirs  but  other  herds  graz 
ing  on  the  prairie  to  the  north,  were  coming  straight 
toward  the  camp ! 

As  was  afterwards  learned,  one  herd  had  stampeded 
and  started  two  others;  and  the  three  herds  together, 

134 


FAILURE  AFTER  FAILURE  135 

about  eight  thousand  head  in  all,  were  bearing  straight 
down  upon  the  Bar-Circle  camp !  And  more  than  that, 
they  were  now  so  close  that  there  was  little  time  to  do 
anything  toward  escaping  from  their  path. 

"  Look  out,  boys !  Here  they  come ! "  yelled 
Gregory,  very  unnecessarily.  For  the  uproar  was 
something  frightful.  Already  the  horses  lariated  near 
the  camp,  warned  by  instinct,  had  broken  their  ropes 
or  pulled  up  their  stakes,  and  could  be  heard  clattering 
away. 

The  camp  was  in  a  grove,  and  as  the  thousands  of 
panic-stricken  steers  came  plunging  and  bellowing 
toward  it,  every  man  sprang  for  a  tree.  Jess  picked 
out  his  tree  and  stood  by  it,  ready  to  climb  if  necessary. 
Most  of  the  others  did  the  same.  The  fat  cook  not 
only  found  a  tree,  but  went  to  climbing  it. 

There  had  been  a  large  fire  at  supper-time.  Most 
of  it  had  now  burnt  out,  but  there  were  many  blazing 
chunks,  ends  of  burnt  sticks,  lying  all  around  where  the 
fire  had  been.  As  the  fleeing  cattle  came  closer,  Jess 
seized  a  fiery  chunk  and  stood  waving  it  to  frighten 
them  away.  Burgess  promptly  did  the  same,  and  so 
did  all  the  others  standing  near,  Gregory  and  Johnson 
among  them. 

Granny  was  still  climbing  —  climbing  as  fast  as  he 
could.  The  nearer  the  stampeding  steers  came  the 
higher  he  climbed.  But  by  chance  he  stepped  on  a 
dead  limb,  which  snapped  off  and  let  him  come  crash 
ing  through  the  tree-top  to  the  ground ! 

The  Deserter,  rolled  in  his  blanket,  was  still  lying 


136  SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

where  he  had  thrown  himself  down  at  bed-time.  And, 
incredible  as  it  seems,  with  that  frightful  uproar  around 
him,  he  was  still  sleeping  peacefully  —  sleepyhead  that 
he  was.  He  was  lying  back  in  the  shadow,  and  no 
body  had  noticed  him. 

But  as  the  fat  cook  came  crashing  to  the  ground,  he 
fell  squarely  on  top  of  the  Deserter.  Thanks  to  what 
he  had  fallen  on,  Granny  was  not  hurt.  But  the 
former  soldier  was  awakened  —  very  rudely  awakened 
—  and  he  promptly  began  to  swear.  But  on  discover 
ing  what  was  taking  place  around  him,  he  suddenly 
quit  swearing  and  went  to  climbing.  Up  one  tree  he 
went,  as  fast  as  he  could,  and  up  another  went  the 
cook,  almost  as  fast. 

As  the  steers  came  down,  thundering  and  bellowing, 
upon  the  camp,  the  men  still  on  the  ground  stood  wav 
ing  their  blazing  fire-brands  wildly.  Some,  Jess 
among  them,  waved  blazing  chunks  with  one  hand, 
while  with  the  other  they  hurled  other  blazing  chunks 
at  the  wild-eyed  leaders  of  the  stampede.  The  steers 
split  apart  and  thundered  on,  passing  by  on  both  sides 
of  the  camp. 

All  the  men,  both  those  on  the  ground  and  the  two 
in  trees,  kept  yelling  frantically,  and  those  on  the 
ground  kept  waving  and  hurling  their  fire.  But  in 
spite  of  that  the  tent,  which  stood  several  yards  back, 
was  quickly  pushed  down  and  trampled  into  the  ground. 

Still  the  cattle  went  thundering  by  on  both  sides, 
hundreds  and  thousands  of  them.  Their  trampling, 
their  terrified  bellowings  and  their  crashing  through 


FAILURE  AFTER  FAILURE  137 

some  near-by  brush  added  to  the  uproar  that  filled  the 
air. 

As  the  divided  animals  kept  crowding  closer  to  the 
camp,  on  both  sides,  the  men  in  the  tree-tops  kept  climb 
ing  higher.  Unfortunately  for  Granny,  he  had  chosen 
a  small  tree  —  little  more  than  a  big  sapling  —  which, 
under  his  weight,  suddenly  bent  over  and  left  him 
hanging  head  down.  The  cattle  were  rushing  by  on 
both  sides  of  the  tree,  and  rubbing  against  it,  and  his 
frightened  head  was  only  a  foot  or  two  above  their 
horns.  The  sapling  was  bending  and  swaying,  and 
Granny  was  swinging  back  and  forth  and  also  bobbing 
up  and  down. 

Jess,  busy  as  he  was  with  his  fire-throwing  and  fire- 
waving,  noticed  the  inverted  cook  hanging  wild-eyed 
over  the  cattle,  and  he  scarcely  knew  whether  to  laugh 
at  the  comical  figure  or  to  be  alarmed  for  him.  But 
nothing  could  be  done. 

Closer  and  still  closer  the  divided  stream  of  fleeing 
steers  kept  pressing  upon  the  camp.  More  than  once 
the  wagon,  big  and  heavy  as  it  was,  seemed  on  the 
point  of  being  overturned.  The  men  on  the  ground 
not  only  yelled  and  waved  their  fire-brands,  some  of 
them  also  firing  their  six-shooters  in  the  air,  but  they 
actually  had  to  beat  off  the  terror-crazed  brutes  with 
their  blazing  chunks. 

Fast  as  the  cattle  ran,  it  was  several  minutes  before 
all  of  the  eight  thousand  head  had  swept  by.  And 
the  time  seemed  much  longer  than  it  really  was  to  the 
men  who  were  fighting  them  off. 


138  SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

When  at  length  steers  had  ceased  to  pass,  Jess 
turned  again  to  look  for  the  cook.  Granny  was  still 
hanging  head  down,  on  his  bent,  swaying  sapling.  The 
Deserter  soon  descended  from  his  perch  of  safety,  but 
Granny  could  not  come. 

"  Just  look  yonder,  boys!"  cried  Phil  Gregory. 
"  If  that  doesn't  look  like  a  big,  fat,  overgrown  'pos 
sum  hanging  to  that  sapling,  what  does  it  look  like?  " 

The  discovery  of  the  cook's  embarrassing  situation 
was  the  signal  for  a  shower  of  jokes. 

"Come  and  ease  me  down,  boys,  some  of  you!" 
pleaded  the  inverted  Granny.  "  I  cain't  climb  back 
wards,  the  way  this  saplin'  has  bowed  over  with  me! 
All  I  can  possibly  do  is  to  hang  on  for  dear  life,  and 
that's  just  what  I  am  doin'." 

But  this  was  too  good  an  opportunity  to  miss.  Ev 
erybody  had  to  offer  some  advice. 

"  Granny,  let  all  holts  go,  and  light  on  your  feet  like 
a  cat!  "  suggested  Dick  McCarty. 

"  Try  jumping  up  and  down,  and  maybe  the  tree  will 
break  with  you,"  somebody  else  advised. 

"What's  the  use  of  tellm'  me  what  to  do,  boys? 
Don't  you  see  I  cain't  do  a  thing  but  hang  on?"  de 
manded  the  exasperated  cook.  "  And  if  I  hang  here 
much  longer,  the  blood's  likely  to  flow  to  my  head  and 
make  me  so  dizzy  I'll  fall  on  my  head  and  break  my 
neck.  You  know  how  fat  I  am.  And  then  who'll  do 
the  cookin'  for  you,  boys?  " 

"  Hang  where  you  are !  "  growled  the  Deserter. 
"  It  serves  you  just  right  for  fallin'  on  top  of  me,  you 


FAILURE  AFTER  FAILURE  139 

great,  big  toad- frog!  You  smashed  me  as  flat  as  a 
pancake,  and  nearly  cracked  some  of  my  ribs !  " 

"  General,"  laughed  Jess,  "  if  you  had  any  feeling 
of  pity  in  your  *ieart  for  a  suffering  fellow-mortal, 
you'd  go  there  and  lie  down  and  let  Granny  fall  on  you 
again.  You'd  be  ever  so  much  softer  than  the 
ground." 

But  the  information  that  the  cook  had  actually  fallen 
upon  the  sleepy-headed  Deserter  so  endeared  Granny 
to  the  cowboys  that  they  now  went  to  his  rescue,  bend 
ing  the  sapling  lower  till  he  could  drop  to  the  ground. 

The  night,  being  cloudy,  was  now  very  dark.  Much 
of  the  camp-fire  had  been  scattered  —  thrown  at  the 
steers.  While  some  of  the  men  were  renewing  the 
fire,  Jess  and  others  went  out  to  where  their  horses  had 
been  staked.  When  they  returned,  Jess  said: 

"  Mr.  Burgess,  not  much  chance  for  us  to  do  any 
thing  till  daylight.  Every  hoof's  gone,  even  to  the 
hobbled  yoke-cattle.  We're  all  afoot." 

"  So  I  supposed,"  answered  the  head  of  the  outfit, 
quietly.  "  Well,  there's  no  help  for  it.  We  couldn't 
have  done  a  thing  to  speak  of  till  daylight,  anyhow.  I 
hope  the  cattle  won't  scatter  much." 

The  Bar-Circle  herd  had  not  been  among  those  that 
had  run  by  the  camp.  But  the  stampeded  steers  had 
made  straight  toward  the  Bar-Circle  cattle,  and  they, 
too,  had  soon  joined  in  the  stampede.  The  night- 
riders  had  not  returned  to  camp,  which  meant  that  they 
had  run  with  their  herd. 

Some  of  the  men  at  the  camp,  and  especially  the 


140  SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

sleepy-headed  Deserter,  soon  sought  their  blankets 
again,  but  Jess  and  the  others  sat  around  the  fire,  talk 
ing  over  the  exciting  experiences  they  had  just  passed 
through.  They  ate  breakfast  while  it  was  still  dark, 
and  at  the  first  streaks  of  dawn  all  got  their  bridles 
and  set  out  in  the  direction  the  stampeded  animals  had 
taken.  The  two  night-herders  had  not  yet  returned. 

For  hours  the  party  on  foot  kept  tramping  in  quest 
of  their  horses.  After  they  had  walked  several  miles, 
without  finding  a  single  horse,  Gregory  suggested  that 
they  could  have  gone  to  some  of  the  other  camps  and 
borrowed  animals  to  ride.  All  agreed  that  that  would 
have  been  better;  but  now  that  they  had  made  a  start 
on  foot  they  kept  on. 

At  last,  when  the  sun  was  high,  they  came  upon  their 
little  drove  of  horses,  all  grazing  quietly.  The  ani 
mals  that  had  pulled  up  their  stakes  were  not  among 
them.  With  no  small  difficulty  the  men  succeeded  in 
catching  a  horse  apiece,  and  having  mounted,  they 
drove  the  loose  animals  back  to  camp. 

Then  they  saddled  up  and  set  off  for  the  serious 
work  of  the  day  —  finding  and  bringing  back  the  lost 
cattle. 

After  riding  a  few  miles,  they  met  a  party  of  cow 
boys  from  one  of  the  other  outfits  whose  herds  had 
stampeded.  Not  having  lost  their  lariated  horses, 
these  men  had  got  an  early  start,  and  were  returning 
with  several  hundred  head  of  the  runaway  cattle. 
Among  them  were  many  that  wore  the  bar-circle. 

Hurrying  on,  the  Bar-Circle  party  were  not  long  in 


FAILURE  AFTER  FAILURE  141 

meeting  their  own  night-herders.  These  two  men  were 
returning  with  about  five  hundred  steers.  They  re 
ported  that  not  only  were  the  Bar-Circle  cattle  mixed 
with  the  three  other  stampeded  droves,  but  that  all  the 
stampeded  cattle  had  scattered  badly,  having  run  in 
many  directions. 

And  so  it  proved.  The  whole  of  that  day,  as  well 
as  of  the  two  following  days,  was  spent  in  rounding 
up  and  driving  back  the  runaway  animals.  There 
were  more  than  ten  thousand  of  the  steers  that  had 
stampeded,  but  four  sets  of  cowboys  were  scouring  the 
country  far  and  near  in  search  of  them.  The  cattle 
were  hopelessly  mixed,  and  but  for  the  fact  that  every 
animal  wore  the  road-brand  of  its  own  herd,  separating 
them  would  have  been  impossible. 

As  it  was,  even  with  the  hearty  co-operation  of  the 
four  outfits,  three  whole  days  went  by  before  the 
stampeded  cattle  were  all  brought  back  and  divided 
into  their  respective  herds.  Some  of  the  steers  were 
found  more  than  twenty  miles  away. 

Of  the  nearly  thirty  droves  of  cattle  under  herd  on 
the  south  side  of  the  Arkansas  when  the  Bar-Circle 
party  arrived  there,  one  or  two  had  crossed  every  day. 
But  there  were  still  just  as  many  waiting  to  cross,  for 
several  new  outfits  had  arrived.  A  few  of  these  would 
lie  by  till  the  river  ran  down;  but  most  of  them  were 
waiting  for  their  turn  to  use  the  Creek  canoemen. 

"  But  that  won't  do  for  us,"  declared  Burgess,  as 
the  Bar-Circle  party  were  gathered  around  their  camp- 
fire  the  first  night  after  their  herd  had  been  restored  to 


142  SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

its  original  proportions.  u  All  these  people  are  going 
only  to  Missouri  or  Illinois,  and  they  have  plenty  of 
time  to  wait.  But  we've  got  thousands  of  miles  to 
travel  before  cold  weather,  and  we  haven't  a  minute  to 
spare." 

"  That's  right,  Joe,"  spoke  up  Gregory.  "  It's  get 
there  on  time  or  never  get  there  with  us.  These 
southern  cattle,  that  never  saw  the  snow  fly,  would 
stand  a  fine  chance  to  starts  to  death  with  even  six 
inches  of  snow  on  the  ground." 

"  And  besides  all  that,  there  are  entirely  too  many 
cattle  on  this  side  of  the  river  to  suit  me,"  Jess  re 
marked.  "  Some  of  these  rainy  nights  there'll  be  a 
general  stampede  around  here,  and  then  it  will  take 
at  least  a  month  to  round  up  all  these  forty  or  fifty 
thousand  cattle  and  sort  them  out.  Even  for  what 
waiting  we  have  to  do,  this  is  not  a  good  place  to 
wait." 

"  No,  that  it  isn't,"  agreed  Johnson.  "  We  don't 
need  any  more  experiences  like  that  one  the  other  night. 
Let's  put  into  the  river  to-morrow  morning,  I  say  —  if 
we  don't  stampede  again  before  daybreak." 

"What  do  you  think,  Jess?"  inquired  Burgess. 
"Can  we  make  it  across  all  right?" 

The  usually  jovial  cowboy  now  turned  a  serious  face 
to  his  employer.  "  We  can  try,"  he  replied  thought 
fully.  "  But  I  must  admit  I'd  feel  ever  so  much  bet 
ter  about  it  if  we  had  those  Indians  and  their  canoes 
to  give  us  a  boost.  I  rode  down  to  the  river  to-day. 
It's  frightfully  high  —  considerably  more  than  a  mile 


FAILURE  AFTER  FAILURE  143 

wide,  I'd  guess.  One  outfit  was  crossing  while  I  was 
there,  and  I  don't  know  what  they  could  have  done 
without  the  canoes.  Even  with  them  they  had  a  lot 
of  trouble.  But  the  way  those  red  men  can  make  their 
dug-out  logs  cut  water  is  something  amazing." 

"  It  would  be  better  if  we  had  them  to  help  us  — 
not  much  doubt  about  that,"  admitted  Burgess.  "  But 
they're  engaged  too  far  ahead.  We  can't  wait  so 
long.  If  we  knew  the  water  would  run  down  soon, 
we  might  lie  by  three  or  four  days  for  that;  that  is, 
if  it  wasn't  for  the  constant  danger  of  a  stampede 
here.  But  the  Arkansas  is  a  long  stream,  and  this 
rainy  weather  may  reach  all  the  way  to  its  head.  So 
we'd  better  move  on  as  soon  as  we  can." 

The  matter  was  fully  discussed,  and  before  the 
party  around  the  camp-fire  broke  up  for  the  night,  a 
definite  decision  had  been  reached  that  they  would 
attempt  to  cross  on  the  following  day. 

So,  soon  after  breakfast  was  over  next  morning, 
orders  were  given  for  all  hands  to  saddle  up.  A 
suitable  crossing  place  had  already  been  picked  out, 
and  the  Bar-Circle  drove  was  soon  marching  toward 
it.  For  the  present  the  wagon  remained  in  camp. 
There  was  a  flatboat  ferry  a  mile  or  two  above,  and 
both  wagon  and  oxen  would  be  ferried  across  there. 

On  arriving  at  the  river  the  steers  were  surrounded 
by  all  hands  and,  with  no  small  difficulty,  forced  into 
the  water.  Headed  by  their  accustomed  leader,  Ball, 
the  bell-steer,  they  swam  out  a  few  hundred  yards. 
But  the  swollen  stream  must  have  looked  too  wide  to 


144  SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

swim;   for   Ball  turned,    and,   swimming  in   a   circle, 
finally  came  back  to  the  bank  he  had  started  from. 

The  drivers  met  them  at  the  water's  edge  and  would 
not  let  them  come  out.  It  was  hoped  that,  by  keeping 
them  in  the  river  long  enough,  they  would  turn  sooner 
or  later,  and  swim  for  the  far  bank.  But  instead  of 
that,  they  swam  and  drifted  down  stream,  along  the 
south  bank.  And  so  they  kept  on,  all  bawling 
drearily,  till  they  had  drifted  a  mile  or  two. 

Burgess  was  obstinate,  and  declared  that  they  must 
be  made  to  cross.  But  Jess,  feeling  sorry  for  the 
soaked  brutes,  bawling  so  dolefully,  finally  said: 

"  This  won't  work,  Mr.  Burgess.  We'd  better  let 
them  come  out  a  while,  and  then  try  again  later. 
Somehow  we  got  a  bad  start  to-day." 

Burgess,  impatient  to  reach  the  north  bank,  was  very 
reluctant  to  yield.  But  Gregory  and  Johnson  agreed 
with  Jess  that  a  new  start  would  be  better.  So  the 
soaked,  shivering  steers  were  permitted  to  come  out  of 
the  water  and  rest  and  sun  themselves  on  the  bank. 
And  very  glad  they  were  to  do  so. 

After  the  cattle  were  all  out,  a  consultation  was 
held  among  the  drivers.  The  day  was  now  well  ad 
vanced,  and  it  was  thought  best  not  to  make  another 
attempt  to  cross  till  the  following  morning.  So  the 
cattle  were  driven  back  to  the  prairie  and  allowed  to 
go  to  grazing  again. 

Burgess  and  Johnson  rode  down  to  Fort  Gibson 
that  afternoon,  crossing  the  river  on  a  flatboat  ferry 
below.  They  had  gone  to  see  about  their  outfitting 


FAILURE  AFTER  FAILURE  145 

preparations.     But  they  returned  to  the  camp  at  dusk. 

Between  nine  and  ten  o'clock  on  the  following  morn 
ing  the  Bar-Circle  drove  marched  down  to  the  river 
again.  But  by  two  o'clock  of  that  afternoon  they 
were  back  on  the  prairie,  grazing  as  before.  They 
had  been  forced  into  the  swollen  stream,  but  had  re 
fused  to  swim  across,  the  experience  of  the  first  day 
being  exactly  repeated.  Burgess  was  much  dis 
appointed,  and  was  growing  very  impatient,  but  there 
seemed  to  be  no  help  for  it.  Other  outfits  that  at 
tempted  to  cross  without  the  assistance  of  the  canoes 
were  having  similar  troubles. 

On  the  third  morning  the  cattle  were  driven  down 
to  the  river  again,  this  time  somewhat  earlier  than 
heretofore.  Again  they  were  urged  into  the  water, 
and  again  they  turned  down  stream  and  kept  drifting 
till  permitted  to  come  ashore.  But  Burgess  was  in  a 
determined  mood.  After  letting  them  rest  for  an  hour 
or  two,  he  ordered  them  put  into  the  water  again. 

This  time  Jess  and  several  of  the  hands  swam  their 
horses  out  into  the  river,  at  the  lower  edge  of  the  float 
ing  drove,  to  keep  them  from  turning.  But  when 
once  the  cattle  started  down  stream,  swept  along  by 
the  current,  the  swimming  horsemen  fought  in  vain  to 
check  them.  Finally  everybody  had  to  get  out  of  the 
way  and  let  the  cattle  go  where  they  would. 

It  was  now  too  late  in  the  day  to  try  again.  So  for 
the  third  time  the  herd  was  driven  back  to  the  prairie 
to  spend  the  night.  The  wagon  had  never  been 
moved,  and  the  camp  remained  at  the  same  place. 


146  SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

By  this  time  Burgess,  who  was  a  very  nervous  man, 
was  well-nigh  frantic. 

"  A  pretty  start  we're  making  to  get  through  to  Cali 
fornia  !  "  he  exclaimed,  while  he  and  the  rest  of  the 
party  were  unsaddling  at  the  camp.  "  We'll  find  the 
-Rockies  snowed  under  by  the  time  we  get  there !  And 
as  for  the  Sierras,  we'll  never  catch  a  glimpse  of  'em ! 
If  we  don't  manage  to  cross  before  long,  we  shall  have 
to  abandon  the  whole  trip." 

"  No,  we'll  never  do  that,"  declared  Johnson. 
"  Whatever  happens  or  don't  happen,  we're  going 
straight  through.'* 

"  Then  we've  got  to  do  better  than  we've  been 
doing,"  Burgess  answered.  "  Here's  a  whole  week 
gone,  and  we  haven't  moved  an  inch.  We'll  try  it 
again  to-morrow,  but  it's  almost  certain  to  be  the  same 
old  thing  over  again." 


CHAPTER  XIV 

LEADING  THE  BELL-STEER 

"  MR.  BURGESS,  I  believe  I've  thought  out  a  plan 
that  will  take  the  cattle  across  in  a  whoop,"  Jess  re 
marked  next  morning,  while  the  Bar-Circle  party  were 
at  breakfast. 

"  Let's  hear  it  quick,  Jess.  If  it  works,  it'll  be 
worth  a  good  suit  of  clothes  to  you  —  the  best  that 
can  be  found  in  Fort  Gibson.  I  lay  awake  half  the 
night,  racking  my  poor  brain,  and  I  can't  think  of  any 
thing  better  than  what  we've  tried." 

"  The  reason  the  cattle  won't  try  to  swim  across," 
the  cowboy  explained,  "  is  because  they  have  no  leader. 
They  follow  Ball  well  enough  on  dry  land.  And  if 
they  could  see  him  go  ahead,  and  particularly  if  they 
could  hear  his  bell,  they'd  follow  him  in  the  water." 

"  Yes,"  spoke  up  Gregory,  "  but  the  trouble  is  he 
won't  go  ahead;  and  his  bell  wouldn't  ring  in  the  water 
if  he  did.  We've  tried  him  four  times  already,  and 
every  time  he  has  turned  round  and  swum  back." 

"  That's  because  we  didn't  go  about  the  matter 
right,  it  seems  to  me,  Phil,"  Jess  answered.  "  Ball's 
none  too  fond  of  water  anyhow,  and  after  he  swims 
out  a  good  piece,  the  river  looks  so  wide  that  he  gets 
discouraged  and  turns  back.  And  the  chances  are  he'll 
keep  doing  that  as  long  as  he  can.  But  he  leads  like 

147 


148  SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

a  horse,  and  my  plan  is  to  lead  him  across,  and  carry 
the  bell  myself,  and  keep  it  ringing." 

"How  could  you  lead  him,  Jess?"  inquired  Bur 
gess,  eagerly. 

"  Why,  I'll  ride  a  horse,  and  swim  across  ahead  of 
the  cattle." 

"Too  risky  —  altogether  too  risky,"  pronounced 
Gregory.  "  That's  a  dangerous  stream,  high  and  wide 
and  swift  as  it  is  just  now.  I'm  well  satisfied  to  stay 
close  to  the  bank.  And  I'd  be  ten  times  better  satis 
fied  to  stay  on  the  bank.  You'll  have  to  think  of 
something  safer  than  that." 

"  I  doubt  if  the  river  is  as  dangerous  as  it  looks," 
Jess  answered.  "  Running  water  is  rather  easier  to 
swim  than  still  water.  Or  at  least  it  has  always 
seemed  so  to  me." 

"  Well,  it's  certainly  a  long  distance  for  a  horse  to 
swim  with  a  man  on  his  back,"  remarked  Burgess, 
thoughtfully.  u  If  you  had  a  canoe  to  paddle  across 
in,  it  wouldn't  be  so  bad.  I'm  anxious  to  reach  the 
north  bank,  and  that  at  the  earliest  minute  possible. 
But  I  don't  want  any  of  us  to  risk  our  lives." 

In  spite  of  what  he  said,  it  was  evident  that  he  was 
inclined  to  favor  the  plan. 

"  I  can't  see  that  there'll  be  any  very  serious  risk," 
urged  Jess.  "  The  river  is  wide  and  rather  swift  — 
I  know  that.  But  we've  got  several  horses  that  can 
swim  it  and  carry  me.  That  long-legged  Spanish  fel 
low  can  do  it  and  never  draw  a  long  breath.  He's  a 
vicious  rascal,  old  Jack  is,  but  he  can  kill  two  or  three 


LEADING  THE  BELL-STEER          149 

ordinary  horses  with  work.  One  day  last  week  I 
rode  him  hard  all  the  forenoon,  and  when  I  turned 
him  loose  at  dinner-time  he  went  off  kicking  up  his 
heels  like  a  playful  colt." 

"  Yes,  I  saw  that,"  laughed  Gregory.  "  If  you  try 
to  swim  the  river,  Jack's  the  very  nag  to  swim  it  on." 

The  discussion  lasted  at  least  an  hour,  the  outcome 
being  an  agreement  that  Jess  should  carry  out,  or  at 
tempt  to  carry  out,  his  plan. 

About  ten  o'clock  the  Bar-Circle  drove,  led  by  old 
Ball,  the  red,  one-horned  bell-steer,  marched  down  to 
the  river  again.  Jess,  mounted  on  the  vicious-looking 
Spanish  horse,  rode  near  the  forward  end  of  the  long- 
strung-out  drove  till  he  came  to  the  river-bank;  or  at 
least  to  the  water's  edge.  The  river  was  out  of  its 
banks  —  far  out  of  its  banks  —  at  the  place  where 
they  proposed  to  cross. 

Ball  and  the  other  lead-steers  halted  a  few  yards 
from  the  water.  Dismounting,  Jess  walked  up  to  Ball, 
who  was  very  gentle,  and  fastened  the  end  of  his  lariat 
around  the  steer's  head,  under  one  horn  and  the  stub 
of  the  other.  Now  he  unbuckled  the  bell-collar  and, 
after  buckling  it  again,  hung  the  big  bell  on  his  arm. 
The  mustang  pranced  and  capered  about,  rearing  and 
running  backwards  and  sidewise,  when  Jess  leaped  into 
the  saddle  with  the  ringing  bell  on  his  arm.  But  the 
young  rider  kept  his  seat  easily  and  the  horse  soon 
quieted  down. 

While  waiting  for  the  rest  of  the  cattle  and  the 
other  drivers  to  arrive,  Jess  sat  in  his  saddle,  gazing 


150  SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

out  across  the  murky,  swift-flowing  river.  A  dull, 
angry  muttering  rose  from  it  ceaselessly.  It  appeared 
frightfully  wide  to  swim,  but  he  had  abundant  faith  in 
the  endurance  of  the  tough  old  mustang.  Far  out  to 
ward  the  middle  of  the  river  a  snag  stuck  up  out  of 
the  water,  and  on  the  end  of  it  stood  a  long-legged 
crane,  meditating  and  digesting  his  breakfast.  So 
motionless  did  the  fowl  stand  that  it  seemed  to  have 
grown  out  of  the  snag.  Every  day  since  the  Bar- 
Circlers  had  been  trying  to  cross  the  river,  Jess  had 
noticed  the  same  or  a  similar  crane  sitting  on  the  same 
snag. 

The  young  cowboy  was  still  gazing  out  across  the 
water  when  a  flotilla  of  canoes,  seven  in  number,  was 
seen  coming  up  the  river.  Each  canoe  was  manned 
by  two  Indians,  who  stood  erect  as  they  dipped  their 
paddles  together,  first  on  one  side  and  then  on  the 
other.  In  spite  of  their  civilized  garb,  the  Indians 
were  rather  wild-looking,  with  their  dark  faces,  and 
with  their  black  hair  hanging  to  their  shoulders  or 
lower.  The  canoes  moved  swiftly  up  the  middle  of 
the  stream,  one  behind  another.  Half  a  mile  above 
they  turned  and  headed  for  the  south  bank. 

"Wonder  where  they're  going  now?"  Jess  re 
marked  to  Sam  Patterson,  who  had  just  arrived. 

"  There's  another  drove  moving  toward  the  river," 
Sam  answered.  "  It's  those  people  from  Illinois,  I 
think.  Guess  they're  going  to  cross  up  there  some 
where.  They've  been  waiting  here  nearly  three  weeks 
for  those  canoes  —  so  one  of  their  hands  told  me. 


LEADING  THE  BELL-STEER          151 

Great  pity  we  can't  get  a  few  Creeks  to  give  us  a  lift." 

"  We  could  get  them  by  waiting  for  our  turn,  but 
I  doubt  if  we  need  them  now,  Sam.  If  I  can  lead  old 
Ball  across,  the  rest  of  the  cattle  will  come  tagging 
along  behind.  I  haven't  the  slightest  doubt  of  that." 

"  Do  you  feel  sure  that  old  slim-shanks  can  make  it 
across  with  you?"  inquired  the  half-breed,  eying  the 
horse  doubtfully. 

"  Sure  enough  to  give  him  a  trial,  Sam." 

"  I'd  rather  it  was  you  tried  him  than  me,"  answered 
the  other,  with  a  shrug  of  his  shoulders. 

The  stream  of  cattle  had  kept  pouring  out  of  the 
woods  and  accumulating  near  the  water's  edge,  till  at 
length  the  whole  of  the  Bar-Circle  drove  was  waiting 
by  the  stream.  Soon  Burgess  was  seen  galloping 
around  the  drove.  On  coming  within  hailing  distance, 
he  reined  up. 

"  Put  in,  Jess,  whenever  you're  ready !  "  he  shouted. 

Jess  looped  Ball's  lariat  around  the  saddle-horn, 
started  the  bell  to  ringing,  and  then  rode  down  the 
few  yards  of  sloping  ground  to  the  water.  The  mus 
tang  stopped  short  at  the  water's  edge,  smelt  of  the 
muddy  stuff,  and  then  snorted  loudly  and  suspiciously, 
as  he  tried  to  turn  back.  But  his  resolute  rider  partly 
coaxed  and  partly  drove  him  into  the  stream. 

Ball  led  well  enough  till  he  came  to  the  water's 
edge.  There  he,  too,  stopped  obstinately,  and  all 
Jess's  pulling  and  tugging  failed  to  budge  him,  till 
Sam  rode  up,  flourishing  and  cracking  his  whip.  Then 
the  steer  took  the  water  and  followed  Jess,  giving  no 


152  SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

further  trouble.  Soon  the  whole  drove,  urged  on  by 
whips  and  shouts,  were  pouring  into  the  stream  after 
him. 

The  river  proved  rather  shallow  here,  the  bottom 
being  overflowed  land.  The  first  fifty  yards  found 
the  horse  in  water  only  up  to  the  stirrups,  the  second 
fifty  up  to  the  saddle-skirts.  A  little  later  both  he  and 
Ball  began  to  swim. 

About  this  time  Jess  heard  another  chorus  of  shouts 
and  cracking  whips,  fainter  than  those  behind  him. 
Glancing  up  stream,  he  saw  another  drove  of  cattle 
on  the  bank,  ready  to  enter  the  water.  The  Creek 
canoemen  had  already  ranged  themselves  out  in  the 
river,  above  and  below  the  cattle  —  most  of  them  be 
low. 

But  little  time  had  the  cowboy  to  look  about.  Sev 
eral  hundred  of  his  own  drove  were  already  in  the 
water,  and  the  others  were  fast  being  pushed  in.  Ball 
was  but  a  few  feet  behind  Jess's  horse,  and  the  fore 
most  steers  were  but  a  few  yards  behind  Ball.  Jess 
was  careful  to  keep  the  bell  ringing.  He  headed  the 
mustang  straight  across;  but  he  knew  that  the  current 
would  carry  all  the  swimming  animals  down  stream,  so 
that  they  would  pass  near  the  snag  and  its  motionless 
crane. 

Now  for  the  first  time  Jess  became  aware  of  some 
thing  peculiar  in  the  movements  of  his  horse. 

"  Jack,  you  rascal,  what  under  the  sun  are  you  up 
to?"  he  exclaimed,  impatiently. 

The  water  was  still  not  very  deep,  and  Jess  soon 


LEADING  THE  BELL-STEER          153 

made  the  discovery  that  the  mustang,  instead  of  swim 
ming  as  a  horse  usually  does,  was  swimming  with  his 
fore  feet  only,  and  walking  on  the  bottom  with  his  hind 
feet. 

"  All  right,  old  fellow,  if  you  like  that  better,"  said 
the  cowboy  aloud,  half  amused.  "  Maybe  you  find  it 
easier  that  way.  But  if  the  river  gets  as  deep  as  they 
say  it  is  between  here  and  the  far  bank,  you'll  have  a 
hard  job  keeping  that  up  all  the  way  across,  I'm  think- 
ing." 

By  this  time  they  were  far  out  in  the  river  and  were 
approaching  the  snag.  The  stream  was  fast  growing 
deeper;  and  as  the  willful  mustang  refused  to  abandon 
his  unique  mode  of  navigation,  the  water  was  soon 
around  his  rider's  waist.  Nor  did  it  stop  there. 

As  the  river  deepened,  the  horse's  position  gradually 
approached  the  vertical,  until  Jess  had  to  cling  to  the 
saddle-horn  with  one  hand  to  keep  from  slipping  out 
of  the  saddle.  Presently  the  horse  stepped  into  a 
deeper  place  and  went  almost  under.  When  his  hind 
feet  did  touch  bottom,  he  gave  a  sudden  bound  and 
shot  upward,  till  more  than  half  his  length  was  out  of 
the  water.  As  he  came  up,  snorting  the  water  out  of 
his  nostrils,  his  wildly  pawing  fore  feet  churned  the 
river  to  foam. 

"  Jack,  you  old  Spanish  freak,  why  don't  you  swim 
like  a  horse  ought  to  swim?"  exclaimed  the  cowboy, 
angrily.  He  wanted  to  jerk  the  reins,  but  dared  not, 
for  fear  of  pulling  the  horse  over  backwards. 

But  when   the   mustang  sank   down   again   till   the 


154  SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

water  was  up  to  his  rider's  arms,  Jess  brought  his 
spurred  heels  sharply  against  the  animal's  flanks.  In 
stantly  Jack  gave  a  terrific  bound,  pawing  and  snort 
ing,  and  shot  up  so  high  that  he  seemed  about  to  fly 
away.  But  he  quickly  dropped  back,  as  deep  as  be 
fore. 

Half  a  dozen  times  at  least  the  horse  shot  up  and 
sank  down  again,  and  all  his  rider's  efforts  to  make  him 
swim  seemed  only  to  render  him  worse.  Jess  was 
frightened. 

"  Why  did  I  ever  ride  such  a  crazy  beast?  "  he  ex 
claimed,  angrily.  And  soon  he  added  to  himself: 
"  I'd  better  get  him  out  of  here  if  I  can,  or  he'll  be 
coming  back  on  top  of  me !  " 

But  on  glancing  behind  him  he  saw,  with  a  sinking 
of  the  heart,  that  the  way  of  retreat  was  already 
closed.  He  was  not  only  far  out  in  the  river,  but  all 
those  twenty-five  hundred  steers  were  now  in  the  water, 
between  him  and  the  bank  he  had  started  from.  And 
between  him  and  the  north  bank  flowed  two-thirds  of 
the  river,  the  deepest,  swiftest  part. 

There  was  little  time  to  think ;  for  the  perverse  mus 
tang  was  still  at  his  wild  capers,  letting  himself  down 
till  his  hind  feet  touched  bottom,  and  then  coming 
up,  snorting  and  pawing.  Every  time  he  shot  upward 
he  also  lunged  forward.  Soon  the  slack  rope  became 
taut,  and  the  towing  bell-steer's  head  received  a  violent 
jerk. 

Now  Jess  hastily  untied  the  lariat  from  around  the 
saddle  horn,  and  hung  the  bell  there  instead.  He  also 


LEADING  THE  BELL-STEER          155 

wrapped  the  lariat  around  his  hand,  lest  it  should  be 
jerked  away  from  him. 

That  was  a  mistake,  as  he  quickly  learned.  For 
the  next  time  the  horse  shot  up  he  also  swung  round 
so  suddenly  that  the  cowboy's  right  arm  bent  back  till 
it  was  almost  jerked  out  of  joint  at  the  shoulder. 
While  he  was  trying  to  free  his  hand,  the  mustang 
dropped  down  and  came  up  again,  giving  Jess's  half- 
dislocated  arm  another  wrench,  which  hurt  him 
severely.  And  it  would  have  hurt  him  worse  if  his 
hand  had  not  slipped  out  of  the  rope. 

But  the  jerk,  occurring  when  the  horse  was  partly  in 
the  air,  was  sufficient  to  bring  him  over  backwards. 
Jess  made  a  hasty  spring  out  of  the  saddle,  and  barely 
escaped  being  carried  down  under  him.  Indeed,  he 
was  carried  under  the  water. 

Coming  up  some  yards  away,  he  shook  the  water  out 
of  his  eyes  and  looked  about  him.  The  mustang  had 
quit  his  strange  antics  and  was  now  swimming  away 
down  stream,  though  with  much  snorting  and  splash 
ing.  The  cattle  were  not  many  yards  behind  and  still 
coming.  If  Jess  did  not  get  out  of  their  way,  they 
would  be  upon  him  speedily. 

The  young  fellow  was  a  good  swimmer,  but  even 
at  his  best  he  would  not  have  cared  to  attempt  to  swim 
from  here  to  the  north  bank.  And  he  had  already 
discovered  that  his  right  arm,  though  he  could  still 
move  it,  was  little  better  than  no  arm.  He  felt  al 
most  helpless  in  the  water. 

But  one  object  did  he  see  that  held  out  any  hope  of 


156  SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

safety;  and  that  was  the  snag  with  the  crane  on  it. 
If  he  could  only  reach  that  before  the  advancing  steers 
overtook  him,  all  might  be  well.  It  was  still  two  or 
three  hundreds  yards  away,  but  he  struck  out  toward  it 
as  fast  as  he  could,  swimming  with  his  left  arm. 


CHAPTER  XV 

PERCHED   ON   THE    CRANED   ROOST 

THAT  moving  line  of  heads  and  horns  was  advanc 
ing  rapidly.  Jess,  with  his  principal  arm  disabled,  did 
his  best,  and  struggled  through  the  water  at  fair  speed. 
But  the  cattle  were  swimming  faster  and  must  soon 
overtake  him.  And  that  snag,  his  only  hope  now, 
looked  far  away. 

Knowing  that  he  could  swim  better  without  them, 
he  paused  once  and  tried  to  get  off  his  boots,  but  was 
unable  to  do  so.  So  he  kept  on  as  best  he  could. 
While  swimming  with  all  his  might,  he  was  wondering 
if  he  would  find  the  snag  fast  in  its  place;  and  he  won 
dered  vaguely  what  would  become  of  him  if  it  was  not 
fast.  As  he  floundered  along,  he  saw  the  hitherto 
motionless  crane  turn  its  head  and  look.  Soon  it  lifted 
its  wings  and  went  flapping  away  heavily  up  the  river, 
with  its  long,  pipe-stem  legs  sticking  straight  out  be 
hind.  The  cowboy,  swimming  for  his  life,  looked 
after  it  enviously. 

Seeing  no  chance  of  reaching  the  snag  ahead  of  the 
cattle  unless  he  could  increase  his  speed,  Jess  tried  to 
use  his  right  arm  a  little.  The  effort  hurt  him  fear 
fully,  but  he  kept  it  up,  and  it  enabled  him  to  get 
through  the  water  somewhat  faster.  But  when  at  last 
he  floundered  up  to  the  snag,  the  swimming  steers  were 
scarcely  a  dozen  feet  behind  him. 

157 


158  SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

Clasping  the  upright  log  with  his  uninjured  arm,  he 
was  overjoyed  to  find  it  as  immovable,  seemingly,  as 
if  it  had  grown  there.  He  had  barely  time  to  drag 
himself  up  out  of  the  water,  when  that  floating,  mov 
ing  forest  of  horns  closed  around  the  snag  under  him. 

After  climbing  till  above  the  horns'  reach,  he  stopped 
to  rest  and  get  his  breath.  The  snag  stood  nearly 
perpendicular,  but  leaned  a  little  up  stream.  Its  lower 
part  was  smooth,  there  being  neither  limb  nor  knot  to 
grasp;  and  the  arm  that  clasped  it  soon  began  to  ache 
from  weariness. 

Looking  skyward,  Jess  saw  that  the  upper  end  was 
a  wide  fork.  Realizing  that  it  would  be  impossible 
for  him  to  cling  to  the  smooth  log  very  long,  he  began 
to  climb. 

With  his  right  arm  paining  him  sharply  every  time 
he  tried  to  use  it,  the  climbing  proved  very  hard.  But 
by  clasping  the  log  with  his  legs,  he  worked  his  way 
up,  a  few  inches  at  a  time,  and  at  length  was  sitting  in 
the  fork,  ten  or  twelve  feet  above  the  water. 

From  this  elevation  he  had  an  open  view  in  every 
direction,  and  could  see  what  was  going  on.  The  cat 
tle,  crowded  together  in  the  water,,  completely  covered 
many  acres  of  the  river's  surface.  They  had  advanced 
a  hundred  yards  or  so  beyond  the  snag;  but  old  Ball, 
their  leader,  had  turned  back,  and  the  whole  drove 
was  now  at  a  standstill  and  in  confusion.  Most  of 
the  steers  were  swimming  round  and  round,  in  a  lost, 
helpless  way,  and  bawling,  bawling  drearily  all  the 
time.  The  riderless  mustang,  after  swimming  and 


PERCHED  ON  THE  CRANE'S  ROOST     159 

drifting  a  few  hundred  yards  down  the  river,  had 
turned,  below  the  cattle,  and  was  making  back  toward 
the  south  bank. 

"  You  tricky  old  rascal !  You  can  swim  well  enough, 
now  that  you  want  to!"  exclaimed  Jess.  "  Guess 
you  did  that  just  to  get  me  off !  " 

This  was  his  angry  conclusion  at  the  time.  Later 
he  wondered  if  he  had  done  the  horse  an  injustice. 
As  afterwards  came  out,  Jack,  fine  traveler  on  solid 
ground  and  hardy  though  he  was,  was  naturally  a  sorry 
swimmer.  Perhaps  he  was  afraid  to  try  to  swim  with 
a  man  on  his  back.  At  any  rate,  neither  Jess  nor  any 
body  else  ever  cared  to  try  him  in  deep  water  again. 

Behind  the  floating  drove  of  cattle  all  the  hands  and 
two  of  the  owners,  Gregory  and  Johnson,  had  swum 
their  horses  out  into  the  river,  and  with  voices  and 
whips  had  been  pushing  the  cattle  before  them.  Now, 
however,  they  were  more  concerned  about  Jess  than 
about  the  steers.  They  had  not  seen  all  that  happened 
to  him,  but  they  had  witnessed  some  of  the  wild  capers 
of  his  horse,  and  could  see  the  animal  swimming  back 
with  an  empty  saddle. 

From  the  safety  of  his  perch  on  the  crane's  roost, 
Jess  waved  his  hand  at  them  reassuringly,  and  made 
them  understand  that  he  was  all  right. 

Once  more  the  drivers  began  to  push  and  prod  the 
cattle  in  the  rear,  trying  to  force  them  to  move  on. 
But  as  long  as  the  drove  had  no  leader,  and  those  in 
front  kept  swimming  round  and  round,  it  seemed  a 
hopeless  undertaking. 


160  SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

Up  the  river,  the  cowboy  on  the  snag  could  see, 
that  other  drove  of  cattle,  guided  by  a  lane  of  canoes 
and  canoemen,  was  making  fair  progress,  though  the 
leaders  were  not  yet  half-way  across. 

While  Jess  was  sitting  on  the  crane's  perch,  gazing 
around,  and  wondering  how  his  own  drove  could  be 
made  to  move  on,  several  steers  got  jammed  together 
at  the  foot  of  the  snag.  In  their  struggles  to  free 
themselves,  one  of  them  pushed  violently  against  the 
upright  log.  To  the  consternation  of  the  young  fel 
low  perched  on  top  of  it,  the  snag  moved  several 
inches,  leaning  further  toward  the  water.  It  was  fast 
only  in  the  sand  of  the  river-bed,  and  the  push  from 
the  swimming  steer,  added  to  the  cowboy's  weight, 
had  been  hard  enough  to  loosen  it. 

For  several  moments  Jess  actually  held  his  breath, 
and  in  his  fright  he  tried  to  lighten  himself,  lest  the 
snag  should  go  down  and  leave  him  floundering  and 
struggling  among  those  horns  —  those  clicking,  clash 
ing,  thick-tangled  horns. 

But  the  snag  moved  no  further,  and  Jess  soon  dared 
to  breathe  again,  though  he  did  not  dare  to  move. 

This  feeling  of  even  partial  security  was  short-lived. 
The  swimming  steers  were  crowded  together  around 
the  snag,  and  soon  one  of  them  rubbed  against  it  again. 
And  again  it  settled  an  inch  or  two,  leaning  fur 
ther  up  stream!  A  feeling  almost  of  horror  thrilled 
through  the  young  cowboy. 

Indeed,  Jess  was  badly  frightened.  For  he  knew 
well  enough  that  unless  the  cattle  moved  on  they  would 


PERCHED  ON  THE  CRANE'S  ROOST     161 

soon  have  him  down  among  them.  Sam  Patterson 
had  swum  his  horse  out  further  than  the  other  cow 
boys,  and  Jess  now  lifted  up  his  voice  above  the  cease 
less  bawling  and  shouted: 

"Punch  them  along  if  you  can,  Sam!  This  old 
snag's  about  to  turn  loose  with  me!  It  can't  stand 
much  longer !  " 

Sam  quickly  shouted  the  nature  of  Jess's  peril  to  the 
other  drivers.  Then  he  yelled  back : 

"  Hang  on  a  few  minutes  if  you  can,  Jess,  and  I'll 
try  to  swim  in  and  take  you  out  1  " 

He  began  to  urge  his  horse  among  the  cattle,  but 
Jess  waved  him  back. 

"  Don't  try  it,  Sam  !  "  he  shouted.  "  It's  too  danger 
ous  !  You  can't  get  through,  and  if  you  did  your  horse 
couldn't  swim  with  both  of  us !  Push  the  cattle  along 
if  you  can,  but  keep  out!  " 

Again  the  swimming  drivers  flourished  and  cracked 
their  whips  and  shouted,  doing  their  utmost  to  get  the 
drove  in  motion.  But  soon  their  noise  was  drowned 
by  a  louder  chorus  of  screeches  and  yells  up  the  river. 
The  drove  crossing  above,  which  numbered  thirty-two 
hundred,  had  made  a  turn,  and  in  spite  of  the  canoes 
was  sweeping  down  stream,  toward  the  Bar-Circle  cat 
tle,  with  a  rush ! 

All  in  vain  the  Creek  canoemen  fought  to  stem  that 
living  tide!  They  whooped,  they  yelled,  they 
screeched,  as  their  forefathers  must  have  whooped  and 
yelled  and  screeched  when  rushing  into  battle !  They 
flourished  their  paddles  wildly,  they  beat  the  water, 


1 62  SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

they  shot  their  canoes  back  and  forth!  But  that 
horned  torrent  swept  on  resistlessly,  and  the  Indians 
soon  had  to  retreat  before  it  to  keep  from  being  run 
down. 

Soon  the  two  droves  in  the  river  were  together, 
most  of  the  upper  drove  passing  to  the  south  of  the 
lower  one.  There  were  now  fifty-seven  hundred  head 
of  swimming  steers  in  one  drove.  To  the  frightened 
Jess,  perched  high  on  his  snag  in  their  midst,  the 
whole  river  seemed  to  be  flowing  with  heads  and  horns ! 
The  uproar,  too,  was  something  frightful;  for  in  their 
hopeless  bewilderment  every  steer  was  doing  his  best 
to  outbawl  all  the  others. 

Over  to  the  north  of  the  cattle,  two  hundred  yards 
or  more  away,  three  canoes  were  coming  down  the 
river  at  a  gallop,  to  get  below  the  mingled  droves. 
At  least  their  movements  suggested  galloping;  for  at 
every  powerful  sweep  of  its  two  paddles  each  canoe 
not  only  shot  forward,  but  rocked  so  far  to  one  side 
that  it  seemed  a  miracle  the  paddlers  were  not  pitched 
out. 

While  Jess  sat  watching  the  Indians,  another  steer 
rubbed  against  his  snag,  causing  it  to  settle  a  few 
inches  lower,  and  reminding  him  of  his  peril.  Every 
nerve  in  his  body  seemed  to  tingle  with  horror. 

"  Hello  there !  "  he  suddenly  yelled  to  the  hindmost 
pair  of  Creeks.  And  when  their  paddles  had  stopped 
he  shouted :  "  This  old  log  is  about  to  flop  down  with 
me  I  Can't  you  come  in  here  and  take  me  off?  " 

The  Indians  made  no  reply,  and  he  wondered  if 


AFTER    ADVANCING    A    FEW    YARDS THE    CANOE    WAS    SEEN    TO 

COME  TO    A    STANDSTILL. 


PERCHED  ON  THE  CRANE'S  ROOST     163 

they  understood  English.  The  canoe  stood  still,  and 
for  a  minute  or  two  the  Creeks  could  be  seen  gazing 
toward  the  snag  and  talking  together.  At  length  they 
turned  and  began  to  paddle  toward  the  cattle  and 
toward  the  snag. 

Soon  they  could  be  seen  trying  to  thread  their  way 
among  the  crowded  heads  and  tangled  horns.  Jess, 
knowing  well  that  his  treacherous  perch  was  likely  to 
drop  down  with  him  at  any  moment,  watched  their 
slow  progress  with  painful  anxiety. 

The  rear  Indian  was  propelling  the  canoe,  while  the 
one  in  front  kept  punching  right  and  left  with  his  pad 
dle  to  open  a  way.  After  advancing  a  few  yards 
among  the  swimming  cattle,  the  canoe  was  seen  to 
come  to  a  standstill.  A  little  later  it  made  a  lurch 
forward,  and  must  have  run  upon  a  steer's  back.  For 
both  canoe  and  Indians  suddenly  rose  up  in  the  air, 
stood  for  a  moment,  then  over  they  went ! 

During  the  next  few  minutes  the  bitterly 
disappointed  watcher  on  the  snag  caught  glimpses  of 
a  pair  of  black,  bobbing  heads,  but  he  could  not  tell 
what  the  Creeks  were  doing.  Probably  they  were  try 
ing  to  right  their  overturned  canoe.  If  so,  all  their 
efforts  were  in  vain;  for  he  afterwards  saw  them 
emerge  from  among  the  horns  and  swim  away  toward 
the  north  bank,  pushing  their  hollow  log  before  them. 

No  help  could  be  expected  from  that  source. 

Now  Jess  felt  that  his  situation  was  indeed  des 
perate.  All  the  other  canoes  were  far  down  the  river, 
where  they  were  trying  to  keep  the  cattle  from  drift- 


1 64  SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

ing  on.  His  friends  had  been  forced  to  retreat  to 
the  south  bank.  And  even  if  they  had  known  of  his 
dire  peril,  they  could  have  done  nothing  to  rescue 
him.  Half  helpless  with  his  crippled  arm  as  he  was, 
he  cast  his  eyes  around  despairingly. 

It  was  a  fearful  situation,  and  the  horror  of  it  was 
fully  realized  by  the  cowboy  on  the  crane's  perch. 
Young  as  he  was,  he  had  been  in  many  places  of 
danger  —  several  of  them  since  starting  on  this  trip. 
But  in  not  one  of  them  had  he  found  himself  so  help 
less  or  so  hopelessly  beset  by  dangers  as  on  this  snag 
far  out  in  the  Arkansas  River.  The  very  thought  of 
having  to  struggle  for  life  among  those  crowded,  half- 
wild  steers  filled  him  with  dread. 

To  make  matters  worse,  if  possible,  he  soon  became 
aware  that  the  snag  was  settling  slowly  all  the  time. 
The  sand  that  held  it  was  gradually  giving  way.  And 
every  touch  the  log  received  from  a  swimming  steer 
only  made  it  settle  the  faster.  Carefully,  cautiously 
Jess  drew  off  his  boots.  If  the  worst  came  to  the 
worst,  he  would  have  a  better  chance  for  life  with  his 
feet  unweighted. 

Slowly,  slowly,  very  slowly  the  snag  sank,  its 
motion  being  felt  rather  than  seen.  The  horror  of 
the  almost  imperceptible  movement  thrilled  through 
Jess  as  he  sat  watching  and  waiting  for  the  inevitable. 

His  acute  torture  was  soon  cut  short.  Another  steer 
rubbed  against  the  snag,  and  the  next  moment  both 
snag  and  cowboy  plunged  into  the  water ! 

The  log  came   down   across  the  backs  of  several 


PERCHED  ON  THE  CRANE'S  ROOST     165 

steers,  and  their  terrified  struggles  and  bellowings 
caused  a  panic  for  yards  around.  But  the  steers 
quickly  floundered  from  under,  and  the  water- 
soaked  snag  sank  like  lead  to  the  bottom. 

Now  the  half-helpless  cowboy  was  in  the  river, 
among  the  swimming,  struggling,  bawling,  fear-mad 
dened  cattle  1 


CHAPTER  XVI 

TAILING  THE  BELL-STEER 

INSTINCTIVELY  Jess,  when  the  log  sank  from  under 
him,  clutched  at  the  first  object  within  his  reach,  which 
happened  to  be  a  steer's  tail.  The  already  excited 
animal,  a  wild  one,  turned  his  head,  rolled  one  eye 
back,  and  catching  sight  of  the  cowboy,  uttered  a  loud 
bellow  and  began  a  frantic  struggle  to  escape.  All 
that  the  brute  could  do  was  to  keep  swimming;  and 
that  he  did,  pushing  and  wedging  his  way  among  the 
crowded  cattle.  But  wherever  he  went  he  felt  some 
thing  clutching  his  tail,  and  every  time  he  rolled  his 
eye  back  he  caught  sight  of  a  human  head  towing  in 
his  wake.  Then  he  swam  faster. 

Jess  clung  to  the  steer's  tail  desperately  with  his  left 
hand,  while  his  unwilling,  wrathful  rescuer  kept  tow 
ing  him  about  among  the  swimming  drove.  As  Jess 
passed  by  the  steers'  heads,  some  of  them  struggled 
and  fought  to  get  away  from  him.  Others  did  their 
best  to  horn  him,  and  he  had  to  splash  water  into  their 
eyes  with  his  crippled  hand. 

This  went  on  for  several  minutes.  The  harder  the 
wild  steer  found  it  to  rid  himself  of  his  tail-gripping 
encumbrance,  the  more  determined  he  was  to  shake  it 
off.  He  had  worked  his  way  far  over  toward  the  east 
edge  of  the  floating  drove,  when  Jess  happened  to 

166 


TAILING  THE  BELL-STEER  167 

catch  sight  of  a  familiar  head  but  a  foot  or  two  from 
his  own.  It  had  one  great  horn  and  a  stub,  and  there 
was  a  rope  around  it. 

He  recognized  Ball  instantly.  Letting  go  the  wild 
steer,  he  swam  back  and  eagerly  grasped  the  gentle 
one's  tail.  Ball  offered  not  the  slightest  objection. 
Having  once  been  a  work-ox  he  was  accustomed  to 
such  liberties. 

Jess  soon  got  hold  of  the  lariat,  which  was  floating. 
This  gave  him  an  idea.  Perhaps  he  could  drive  the 
ox.  Ball,  he  knew,  was  familiar  or  had  been  familiar 
with  the  common  words  of  command  and,  if  he  had 
not  forgotten  them,  could  be  guided  by  them. 

"  Get  up,  Ball!  "  he  shouted,  giving  the  rope  a  slight 
jerk. 

Ball  did  not  move.  He  seemed  more  or  less  be 
wildered  at  first,  and  could  not  understand  what  was 
expected  of  him.  But  after  the  command,  empha 
sized  by  the  rope-jerking,  had  been  repeated  a  few 
times,  he  started  through  the  swimming  drove,  picking 
and  pushing  his  way  at  his  driver's  urging. 

"  Gee,  Ball !  Gee !  gee !  gee !  "  shouted  Jess,  when 
he  wanted  him  to  turn  to  the  right.  And  the  ox 
turned  obediently.  In  fact,  he  turned  too  far,  and  the 
driver  had  to  shout  "  Haw!  "  at  him  a  few  times  to 
bring  him  back  to  the  right  course.  Thus  they  kept 
on,  and  soon  the  steer  and  his  driver  emerged  from 
among  the  swimming  cattle  into  open  water. 

Here  Ball  wanted  to  turn  back,  being  reluctant  to 
leave  the  other  steers.  But  the  cowboy  kept  urging 


1 68  SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

him  on,  speaking  to  him  sharply,  and  jerking  the  rope 
or  twisting  his  tail.  Finally,  seeing  that  there  was  no 
help  for  it,  Ball  pointed  his  nose  toward  the  north 
bank  and  struck  out  across  the  wide  expanse  of  river. 

Jess  clung  to  the  steer's  tail  with  his  right  hand. 
Knowing  that  Ball  had  already  been  in  the  water  long, 
he  swam  with  his  left  hand  and  his  feet  to  keep  from 
burdening  him. 

Before  going  far  Jess  glanced  back,  and  was  sur 
prised  to  see  several  other  steers  coming,  not  many 
yards  to  the  rear.  And  still  others  could  be  seen  fall 
ing  in  behind  those.  In  their  bewildered  state  the  cat 
tle  were  both  willing  and  eager  to  follow  a  leader. 

By  the  time  Ball  had  covered  half  the  distance  to 
the  north  bank,  he  had  hundreds  of  followers.  And 
when,  several  minutes  later,  Jess  let  go  the  old  fellow's 
tail,  climbed  the  bank  and  looked  back,  all  of  the  two 
mingled  droves  were  coming. 

"  It  was  a  success  after  all,  my  plan,"  he  said  to 
himself,  "  though  up  till  a  few  minutes  ago  it  seemed 
an  utter  failure." 

Indeed,  his  plan  had  proved  an  entire  success  —  a 
double  success,  in  fact.  He  had  brought  two  droves 
across  instead  of  one. 

There  was  barely  time  to  wave  to  his  friends,  who 
had  seen  the  snag  go  down  and  believed  him  drowned, 
when  he  had  to  retreat  before  the  cattle,  which  were 
coming  up  the  bank  by  hundreds  and  thousands. 

As  he  sat  on  the  limb  of  a  big  fallen  tree,  sunning 
himself  and  watching  the  dripping  steers  emerge  from 


TAILING  THE  BELL-STEER  169 

the  river,  he  looked  out  across  the  wide  expanse  of 
water  and  saw  that  a  bunch,  nearly  a  hundred  head, 
had  broken  away  from  the  main  drove  and  were  swim 
ming  and  drifting  down  the  middle  of  the  river. 
Later  he  saw  them  turn  and  head  for  the  south  bank. 
After  reaching  and  climbing  the  bank,  they  disap 
peared  into  the  woods. 

The  Indian  canoemen  came  paddling  behind  the  big 
drove,  but  not  one  of  the  cowboys  attempted  to  swim 
his  horse  all  the  way  across.  Indeed,  as  soon  as  they 
saw  that  Jess  was  safe  and  that  the  cattle  were  cross 
ing,  they  swam  back  to  land.  A  little  later  Jess 
noticed  them  riding  rapidly  up  the  river-bank.  He 
knew  that  they  were  making  for  the  ferry. 

Jess  sat  quietly  on  his  perch  in  the  sun,  watching 
the  steers  browsing  in  the  woods,  till  the  cowboys  came 
galloping  down  to  take  charge  of  the  numerous  drove. 
Not  only  the  Bar-Circle  hands,  but  also  those  of  the 
other  outfit,  were  in  the  party.  Gregory  was  leading 
Jess's  horse. 

"  Bully  for  you,  Jess,  my  boy!  "  he  shouted,  on 
catching  sight  of  the  young  fellow.  Then,  riding  up 
to  the  log,  he  said:  "You  fetched  'em  across 
a-whooping,  didn't  you?" 

"  Well,  yes,  I  got  'em  across  at  last,  but  I  had  a 
time  of  it  on  the  way.  If  I'd  so  much  as  guessed  what 
I'd  have  to  pass  through,  I  never  would  have  started. 
I  left  my  hat  and  a  good  pair  of  boots  somewhere  out 
yonder  in  the  Arkansas." 

"  Oh,  never  mind  about  those !  "  answered  Gregory, 


170  SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

lightly.  "  Plenty  of  hats  and  boots  down  at  Fort  Gib 
son.  You  shall  have  new  ones,  and  good  ones,  too, 
instead  of  your  old  ones.  We'll  get  them  the  first 
time  we're  down  there,  together  with  the  suit  of  clothes 
Burgess  promised  you.  Meanwhile  some  of  us  will 
lend  you  what  you  need.  There  are  several  extra  hats 
and  extra  pairs  of  boots  in  the  wagon." 

"  It  was  all  this  booger's  fault  that  I  had  so  much 
trouble,"  Jess  remarked,  as  he  took  the  bridle-rein 
from  Gregory  and  sprang  into  the  saddle.  His 
clothes  were  now  almost  dry.  "  If  he'd  behaved  him 
self  and  swum  straight  across,  he'd  have  saved  me  an 
awful  fright.  I  was  scared  out  of  a  year's  growth  out 
there." 

The  two  sets  of  cowboys  now  rounded  up  their 
two  mingled  droves  of  cattle  and  marched  them  out 
to  the  prairie.  Here  they  were  all  soon  busy  separating 
the  steers  according  to  the  road-brands. 

After  learning  that  the  Bar-Circle  cattle  had  swum 
the  river  at  last,  Davis  the  teamster  and  Granny  the 
cook  brought  the  wagon  across  at  the  ferry,  and  estab 
lished  a  new  camp  on  the  north  bank  of  the  Arkansas. 
Both  the  wagon  and  the  cattle  had  been  crossed  not 
far  above  the  Verdigris.  This  latter  is  a  good-sized 
stream  which  flows  into  the  Arkansas  from  the  north, 
its  mouth  being  but  a  few  miles  above  Fort  Gibson. 
V  After  the  mixed  droves  had  been  separated,  and 
the  party  from  Illinois  had  taken  up  their  march  north 
ward  with  their  cattle,  Burgess  ordered  the  Bar-Circle 
drove  counted.  When  the  last  steer  had  been  passed 


TAILING  THE  BELL-STEER  171 

between  two  cowboys,  and  they  and  Burgess  had  com 
pared  counts,  it  was  found  that  the  number  was  about 
eighty  head  short. 

''Where  could  all  those  steers  have  slipped  out?" 
exclaimed  Burgess,  impatiently. 

Now  for  the  first  time  Jess  recalled  that  he  had 
noticed  a  bunch  of  cattle  drifting  down  the  river,  and 
afterwards  returning  to  the  south  bank.  On  in 
quiring,  he  learned  that  nobody  had  brought  the  run 
aways  back.  Indeed,  nobody  else  had  even  seen  them 
escaping. 

"  So  that's  what  became  of  the  sly  rascals,"  said 
Burgess.  "  They  sneaked  back  to  the  south  bank,  and 
they're  somewhere  over  there  now.  That  means  more 
trouble.  I  thought  we  had  every  hoof  on  the  north 
side  of  the  river  at  last.  But  that's  evidently  a  mis 
take." 

"  I  ought  to  have  remembered  them  sooner,"  ad 
mitted  Jess.  "  But  we've  been  so  busy  since  then  that 
somehow  they  slipped  out  of  my  mind.  I'll  go  back 
over  there  right  away  and  see  about  them.  And 
somebody  had  better  go  with  me." 

It  was  now  late  in  the  day,  and  there  were  threaten- 
ings  of  more  rain,  the  sky  being  overcast  with  clouds. 
But  it  was  soon  decided  that  Jess  and  Gregory  should 
return  to  the  south  side  of  the  Arkansas, "and  remain 
there  till  the  eighty-odd  missing  steers  were  found  and 
brought  across.  If  assistance  should  be  needed,  they 
could  send  for  more  men. 

So  the  two  set  out  at  once  for  the  ferry,  each  of 


172  SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

them  mounted  on  one  horse  and  leading  two  more. 
They  might  have  plenty  of  hard  riding  to  do  before 
they  found  the  runaway  steers.  Jess  had  borrowed 
a  pair  of  boots  and  a  hat,  and  both  he  and  Gregory 
had  their  blankets  tied  behind  their  saddles. 

When  at  length  the  flatboat  had  landed  them  on  the 
south  bank,  they  started  for  a  cabin  that  stood  out  at 
the  edge  of  the  prairie.  Both  had  got  slightly  ac 
quainted  with  the  Creek  Indian  living  there.  Hav 
ing  no  camping  outfit  with  them,  they  were  going  to  see 
if  they  could  make  his  house  their  headquarters 
while  on  this  side  of  the  river.  They  had  especial 
need  of  some  place  to  leave  their  spare  horses. 

But  before  they  had  ridden  far  toward  the  Indian 
cabin,  Jess  said: 

"  Phil,  if  you  can  lead  all  these  horses,  I'll  ride 
down  the  river  and  see  if  I  can  get  on  the  trail  of 
those  steers.  Even  if  I  can't  find  them,  I  can  learn 
the  course  they've  followed,  and  then  we  may  not  have 
to  ride  all  the  way  back  to  the  river  to  strike  their  trail 
to-morrow  morning." 

"Don't  you  think  we'd  better  stay  together,  Jess? 
One  man  might  have  trouble  driving  all  those  steers  if 
he  found  them." 

"  Not  much  chance  to  find  them  to-night.  We 
wouldn't  have  time  to  ride  to  that  Creek's  and  then 
get  back  to  the  river  before  it's  too  dark  to  pick  up 
the  trail.  So  if  you'll  manage  the  horses,  I'll  take  a 
little  round  by  myself,  and  see  what  I  can  learn  while 
daylight  lasts." 


TAILING  THE  BELL-STEER  173 

"  All  right,  then.  I'll  trot  on  and  arrange  mat 
ters  with  that  Indian.  You'd  better  not  stay  out  late. 
We  can  get  an  early  start  in  the  morning,  and  it  won't 
take  us  long  to  run  those  rascally  steers  down."  He 
rode  away,  leading  the  four  horses. 

Jess  galloped  down  the  river-bank  for  a  mile  or  two. 
When  near  the  point  where  he  had  seen  the  cattle  go 
ashore,  he  rode  more  slowly,  looking  for  tracks. 

Soon  he  discovered  where  they  had  passed.  There 
had  been  no  other  cattle  here  since  the  last  rain,  and 
their  tracks  were  very  plain.  Away  the  cowboy  went, 
following  the  trail  at  a  gallop. 

The  cattle  had  entered  some  scattering  timber,  and 
then  turned  down  the  river.  They  were  traveling 
away  from  the  house  to  which  Gregory  had  gone,  but 
Jess  pushed  on  rapidly  after  them,  hoping  to  overtake 
them  before  night.  No  telling  how  far  they  would 
wander  by  morning  if  they  remained  at  large. 

The  whole  sky  was  now  thickly  overcast  with  clouds ; 
and  before  the  young  cowboy  suspected  that  night 
was  near,  darkness  began  to  come  on.  Still  hoping 
to  overhaul  the  cattle  at  any  minute,  he  kept  riding 
as  long  as  it  was  possible  to  follow  the  trail. 

But  at  last  he  had  to  turn  back,  without  finding 
them.  Now  he  started  for  the  Indian  cabin.  He 
rode  rapidly  for  a  short  distance,  till  the  thickening 
darkness  forced  him  to  drop  to  a  walk  to  keep  from 
running  against  trees  and  bushes. 

Before  long  the  moonless,  cloudy  night  became  so 
black  that  he  could  not  see  his  hand  held  an  inch  in 


174  SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

front  of  his  face.  Having  a  blanket  behind  his  sad 
dle,  he  was  wondering  if  it  would  not  be  better  for 
him  to  lariat  his  horse  and  go  to  sleep  somewhere, 
when  rain,  a  slow  drizzle,  began  to  fall.  He  untied 
the  blanket  and  fastened  it  around  his  shoulders,  but 
rode  on. 

Jess's  sense  of  direction  was  unusually  strong;  so 
much  so  that  as  long  as  he  could  see  he  never  lost 
the  points  of  the  compass.  But  so  thick  was  the  dark 
ness  now  that  he  was  soon  forced  to  admit  to  himself 
that  he  couldn't  tell  east  from  west  or  north  from 
south.  It  occurred  to  him  that  his  horse  might  be 
able  to  find  the  way,  and  he  gave  him  the  rein.  But 
from  the  animal's  aimless  manner  it  quickly  became 
evident  that  he  either  did  not  know  where  he  was  ex 
pected  to  go,  or  did  not  care  where  he  went.  Soon 
he  stopped  and  began  to  graze. 

"  Well,  now,  this  is  a  pretty  how-do-you-do !  "  said 
the  cowboy  to  himself.  "I'm  hopelessly  lost  —  no 
doubt  of  that.  And  this  drizzle  bids  fair  to  last  all 
night.  I  can't  tell  whether  I'm  going  on  to  California 
or  back  to  Texas.  And  I'm  just  as  likely  to  ride  into 
the  Arkansas  River  as  anywhere  else,"  he  added,  a 
little  later,  when  his  horse  began  to  splash  through 
water. 

The  water  proved  to  be  only  a  pond,  and  after 
emerging  from  it  he  kept  going  as  fast  as  he  dared  in 
the  pitchy  blackness  that  shut  him  in. 

After  he  had  been  riding  for  perhaps  an  hour,  wan 
dering  whither  he  knew  not,  the  lost  cowboy  found 


TAILING  THE  BELL-STEER  175 

himself  in  water  again.  Thinking  that  it  was  only 
another  pond,  he  urged  his  horse  forward.  But  after 
splashing  along  for  a  few  hundred  yards,  till  the  water 
was  up  to  his  stirrups,  he  detected  a  faint,  dull  roar. 
Now  he  realized  that  the  roar  came  from  running 
water,  and  that  if  not  actually  in  the  river  he  was  at 
least  in  back-water  from  the  river.  He  had  supposed 
himself  a  mile  or  two  from  the  Arkansas. 

The  roar  of  the  swollen  stream,  little  more  than  a 
muttering,  so  filled  the  air  that  he  could  not  make 
sure  what  direction  the  sound  came  from.  He  turned 
his  horse  and  thought  he  was  retracing  his  way.  But 
the  water  soon  began  to  grow  deeper.  Now  the  horse 
stopped  short,  trembling  and  snorting,  and  refused  to 
advance  another  step.  Jess  sat  still  in  the  saddle, 
wondering  what  he  ought  to  do. 

"  Well,  it  seems  I'm  not  only  lost  in  the  night,  but 
lost  in  the  Arkansas  River  as  well,  and  can't  find  my 
way  out !  "  was  his  not  very  cheerful  reflection. 


CHAPTER  XVII 

SINGING    FROG   AND   BLUE    BUTTERFLY 

FOR  a  few  minutes  Jess  sat  quietly  in  the  saddle, 
not  knowing  which  way  to  go,  and  afraid  to  move  lest 
he  should  plunge  into  deeper  water.  And  yet  he 
could  not  remain  here  all  night. 

At  length  the  horse  turned  of  his  own  accord,  and 
began  to  make  his  way  through  the  water.  He 
stopped  from  time  to  time,  snorting  suspiciously,  as  if 
uncertain  of  his  course.  Jess  let  him  have  the  rein, 
and  the  animal  kept  going  till  at  length  he  emerged 
upon  firm  ground. 

The  lost  cowboy  was  willing  to  let  the  horse  go 
where  he  would,  in  the  hope  that  the  animal's  instinct 
might  lead  him  back  to  their  former  camp.  But 
scarcely  were  they  out  of  the  water  when  the  horse 
stopped  and,  putting  down  his  nose,  fell  to  cropping 
the  grass.  So  Jess  had  to  take  the  rein  again.  He 
tried  to  guide  him  away  from  the  river. 

After  wandering  for  an  hour  or  two  longer  through 
the  drizzle  and  darkness,  Jess  discovered  a  light  not 
far  away.  Riding  slowly  toward  it  through  the 
woods,  he  soon  learned  that  it  shone  between  the  logs 
of  a  cabin.  The  light  was  rather  dim,  coming  from 
a  wood-fire  burnt  low. 

Riding  as  close  to  the  cabin  as  he  could  for  a  fence, 

176 


SINGING  FROG,  BLUE  BUTTERFLY     177 

he  shouted  "  Hello!  "  again  and  again.  At  first  only 
some  noisy  dogs  rushed  out  to  bark  at  him.  But  at 
length  the  door  opened  and  a  man  stood  in  it.  He 
proved  to  be  an  Indian,  who  spoke  very  poor  English. 

Jess  finally  made  known  that  he  was  lost,  and  that 
he  wanted  a  shelter  and  a  place  to  sleep.  In  view  of 
the  rainy  night,  the  Indian  consented  to  furnish  him 
lodging,  though,  as  it  seemed  to  Jess,  the  consent  was 
rather  grudgingly  given. 

The  cowboy  dismounted,  and  after  lariating  his 
horse  in  an  open  spot,  left  him  to  graze  there,  while 
he  himself  took  his  saddle  and  started  to  the  house. 

The  Indian  had  left  the  door  ajar,  so  that  a  streak 
of  light  shone  out,  and  he  had  also  stirred  the  fire  till 
it  lighted  up  the  cabin's  interior.  Jess  entered  and 
put  his  saddle  in  a  corner,  then  looked  about  him. 

The  cabin  was  small  and  smoke-begrimed  and  had 
but  one  room.  There  were  two  beds  in  it,  in  the 
back  corners.  One  bed  the  Indian  and  his  wife  slept 
in;  the  other  had  several  little  Indians  in  it.  The 
man  was  about  to  lift  the  sleeping  children  out  to 
make  a  place  for  the  young  white  man  to  sleep.  But 
Jess  told  him  not  to  do  that,  as  he  would  be  only  too 
glad  to  sleep  on  the  floor  by  the  fire,  rolled  in  his 
blanket. 

The  Indian  compromised  the  matter  by  crowding 
the  children  together  on  the  back  part  of  their  bed, 
thus  leaving  room  for  Jess  to  sleep  on  the  fore  side. 

And  that  was  what  he  did,  undressing  in  the  dark, 
after  the  owner  of  the  cabin  had  shoveled  ashes  upon 


178  SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

the  fire  with  a  clapboard.  Jess  laid  both  his  clothes 
and  his  six-shooter  on  a  chair  by  the  bed.  He  was 
not  very  favorably  impressed  by  the  Indian's  appear 
ance,  and  felt  safer  for  having  a  weapon  within 
reach. 

For  a  short  time  the  young  white  man  lay  listening 
to  the  breathing  of  the  little  sleeping  Indians  in  bed 
with  him,  and  to  the  steady,  gentle  pattering  of  the 
rain  upon  the  roof.  Then,  before  realizing  that  he 
was  even  sleepy,  he  fell  asleep. 

How  long  he  slept  is  uncertain ;  but  some  time  in  the 
night  he  was  awakened  by  a  loud,  noisy  pounding  on 
the  door.  Again  and  again  the  pounding  was  heard. 
The  owner  of  the  cabin  was  evidently  a  sound  sleeper, 
but  he  finally  awoke,  crawled  out  of  bed  and  into  his 
clothes,  and  went  to  the  door.  There  Jess  heard  him 
parleying,  in  his  own  tongue,  with  whoever  was  outside. 
Soon  several  men  came  in.  When  the  fire  was  stirred 
up,  Jess  saw  that  they  were  all  Indians,  and  that 
every  one  carried  a  gun. 

The  coming  of  a  party  of  armed  Indians  at  this  time 
of  night  was  not  very  reassuring,  and  Jess  found  his 
hand  slipping  out,  almost  involuntarily,  to  the  six- 
shooter  on  the  chair,  and  drawing  it  under  the  cover 
to  him.  The  Indians  soon  began  to  talk  loudly  and 
excitedly.  And  it  seemed  that  he  himself  had  some 
thing  to  do  with  their  conversation,  for  they  kept 
glancing  back  toward  where  he  was  lying. 

Presently  came  another  knocking  at  the  cabin  door, 
and  when  it  was  opened,  four  more  armed  Indians 


SINGING  FROG,  BLUE  BUTTERFLY     179 

entered.  And  scarcely  fifteen  minutes  later  several 
others  arrived.  All  wore  blankets,  and  all  remained 
standing.  The  cabin  was  now  almost  as  full  as  it 
would  hold,  of  armed  men. 

With  every  new  arrival  Jess  felt  more  and  more  un 
comfortable.  That  all  these  Indians  were  not  out 
this  rainy  night,  and  at  this  time  of  night,  for  any 
good  purpose,  he  understood  well  enough.  But  what 
they  were  here  for  he  could  not  even  guess. 

The  situation  was  certainly  a  puzzling  one  to  the 
cowboy,  lying  there  quietly  with  the  sleeping  children. 
The  roomful  of  armed  Indians  looked  very  fierce  to 
him,  in  the  dim,  shadowy  light  from  the  glowing  coals. 
Several  of  the  visitors  seemed  to  be  urging  something, 
and  the  owner  of  the  cabin  kept  objecting.  At  last 
the  owner  had  his  way,  and  the  numerous  armed  visi 
tors  passed  out  into  the  darkness  and  drizzle  from 
which  they  had  come. 

Though  he  had  no  real  reason  to  suspect  that  any 
danger  had  threatened  him,  Jess  breathed  more  freely 
after  they  were  gone.  He  inquired  of  the  Creek 
what  they  were  doing  out  at  this  time  of  night.  But 
the  man  either  did  not  understand,  or  pretended  not 
to  understand,  what  was  said  to  him,  and  no  explana 
tion  was  given. 

The  Indian  covered  up  the  fire  and  went  back  to 
bed.  Jess  soon  fell  asleep  and  slept,  though  rather 
lightly,  till  daylight.  Then  he  got  out  of  bed  and 
dressed,  paid  the  Indian  for  his  lodging,  and  took  his 
saddle  and  went  out.  He  more  than  half  expected  to 


i8o  SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

find  his  horse  gone,  but  the  animal  was  still  tied  to  a 
bush,  cropping  the  grass  busily. 

Jess  girted  on  his  saddle  and  was  quickly  riding 
away.  Some  little  rain  was  still  falling,  but  it  ceased 
before  he  had  covered  the  few  miles  to  the  house 
where  Phil  Gregory  was  waiting  for  him. 

".Well,  now,  where  in  the  world  have  you  been  all 
this  rainy  night?  "  demanded  Gregory,  as  Jess  rode 
up  to  the  Creek's  cabin. 

The  returned  wanderer  gave  a  full  account  of  the 
night's  adventures.  After  unsaddling  and  lariating 
out  his  horse,  he  and  Gregory  entered  the  house  for 
breakfast. 

There  were  two  rooms  here,  with  a  door  between. 
The  Creek  woman  was  very  shy,  staying  much  of  the 
time  out  of  sight  in  the  kitchen.  At  the  most  she  only 
came  to  the  partition-door  and  glanced  in  bashfully  at 
the  table  where  the  white  men  were  eating.  Greg 
ory  explained  that  she  spoke  not  a  word  of  English. 

The  table  was  waited  on  by  her  daughters,  two 
demure  little  brown-faced  maids  of  fifteen  or  sixteen 
years.  They  looked  enough  alike  to  be  twins,  and 
Jess  soon  learned  that  they  were  twins.  Both  were 
bright-faced  and  rather  pretty.  They  knew  a  little 
English,  and  spoke  it  in  a  way  that  Jess  and  Gregory 
found  very  amusing. 

Gregory,  having  spent  the  night  here,  had  learned 
something  about  them.  The  prettier  of  the  girls  was 
named  Singing  Frog,  and  her  sister,  Blue  Butterfly. 
Gregory  was  careful  not  to  speak  of  them  while  they 


SINGING  FROG,  BLUE  BUTTERFLY     181 

were  in  the  room.  But  in  some  way  they  learned  that 
they  were  being  talked  about,  and  could  be  seen  peep 
ing  shyly,  bashfully  between  the  logs  of  the  partition- 
wall. 

While  eating,  Jess  told  Gregory  of  the  gathering 
of  armed  Indians  the  night  before,  and  Gregory  was 
as  much  puzzled  to  know  what  it  had  meant  as  Jess 
himself  had  been.  The  Creek,  who  was  out  looking 
for  his  horses,  returned  before  the  white  men  had  fin 
ished  their  breakfast.  He  inquired  where  Jess  had 
spent  the  night  and,  on  being  told,  remarked : 

"  Bad  Creek  live  there.  Me  no  likee  that  kind  In 
jun.  Heap  much  devilment  go  on  there." 

This  confirmed  Jess's  already  formed  opinion  that 
the  midnight  assemblage  had  not  been  for  any  good 
purpose.  But  he  was  still  in  the  dark  as  to  what  had 
really  brought  the  armed  red  men  together. 

Soon  after  breakfast  Jess  and  Gregory  saddled  a 
horse  apiece,  Jess  choosing  one  that  he  had  not  been 
riding.  Then,  having  lariated  their  other  horses  on 
fresh  grass,  and  asked  the  Creek  to  take  care  of  them, 
they  rode  away  in  quest  of  the  runaway  cattle. 

After  riding  down  the  river,  and  somewhat  toward 
it,  till  they  intercepted  the  trail  of  the  steers,  they 
followed  it,  and  at  length  came  to  where  night  had 
forced  Jess  to  turn  back.  The  trail  was  somewhat 
dim  after  the  drizzle  of  the  night  before,  but  it  could 
still  be  made  out. 

To  Jess's  no  small  surprise,  the  trail  led  not  far 
from  the  cabin  where  he  had  spent  the  night.  And 


1 82  SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

less  than  half  a  mile  further  on  it  showed  that  the 
steers  had  been  penned  in  a  rail-pen  in  the  woods. 
Jess  recalled  that  he  had  heard  the  distant  bawling 
of  cattle  during  the  night,  and  he  and  Gregory  won 
dered  still  more.  The  pen  was  empty  now,  and  the 
trail  led  on  down  the  river. 

Finally  the  two  men  rode  back  to  the  cabin  and  de 
manded  an  explanation.  For  a  time  the  Indian  took 
refuge  in  his  ignorance  of  English.  He  finally  admitted 
knowing  that  the  cattle  had  been  there,  but  he  in 
sisted  that  he  knew  nothing  as  to  whose  they  were  or 
how  they  came  there,  the  pen  not  belonging  to  him. 

Whether  this  was  true  or  not,  the  white  men  had  to 
accept  it.  So  they  rode  back  to  the  pen  and  took  up 
the  trail.  Before  following  it  far,  they  discovered 
horses'  tracks  among  the  cattle-tracks  —  pretty  good 
evidence  that  the  wandering  bunch  of  steers  had  had 
drivers,  at  least  from  here  on. 

"  I  don't  like  the  looks  of  this,  Jess,"  said  Gregory, 
as  they  were  riding  the  trail.  "  These  steers  are 
stolen  — *  not  much  doubt  about  that.  And  if  we've 
got  to  deal  with  thieves,  I'm  not  sure  it  wouldn't  have 
been  wiser  for  us  to  go  back  for  some  of  the  other 
boys." 

"  Well,  as  there  are  the  tracks  of  only  two  horses, 
there  can't  be  more  than  two  thieves,"  answered  Jess. 
"  They  won't  be  so  very  bold,  I  guess,  here  almost  in 
rifle-shot  of  a  fort  full  of  soldiers.  I  don't  think  we 
need  to  be  afraid  of  them.  If  we  overtake  them  with 
our  cattle,  we'll  get  the  cattle  or  have  a  lot  of  fun." 


SINGING  FROG,  BLUE  BUTTERFLY     183 

*  Yes,  I  think  we  can  manage  the  two,  Jess.  But 
they're  liable  to  get  re-enforcements  before  they  travel 
many  miles.  We  can  keep  on  after  them  till  they  do, 
though." 

So  the  two  white  men  kept  on,  riding  hard.  Late  in 
the  afternoon  they  came  upon  their  cattle,  grazing  on 
a  little  prairie  shut  in  by  thick  woods.  The  horse- 
tracks  had  continued  even  to  this  point.  But  if  there 
had  been  any  persons  watching  the  cattle,  they  had  dis 
appeared  before  the  white  men  could  catch  a  glimpse 
of  them. 

Gregory  expressed  the  conviction  of  both  when, 
after  thinking  the  matter  over,  he  said : 

"  These  cattle  were  driven  off  —  not  the  least  doubt 
of  that  in  my  mind.  But  the  fellows  that  stole  them 
intended,  not  to  keep  them,  but  to  bring  them  back  as 
soon  as  a  reward  is  offered/' 

"  Well,  we'll  save  them  that  trouble,  and  ourselves 
from  paying  a  reward,"  laughed  Jess. 

Rounding  up  the  more  than  eighty  steers,  the  two 
men  promptly  started  back  the  way  they  had  come. 
When  night  overtook  them,  they  stopped  at  the  house 
of  an  Indian  where  there  was  also  a  cow-pen  large 
enough  to  hold  the  cattle.  Gregory  and  Jess  got  their 
supper  at  the  house,  but,  the  sky  being  clear  to-night, 
they  slept  in  their  blankets  not  far  from  the  penned 
cattle,  and  still  closer  to  their  lariated  horses.  They 
did  not  dare  to  run  any  more  risk  from  thieves;  and 
there  was  no  knowing  whom  to  trust  here. 

At  daylight  the  cattle  were  turned  out  to  graze  for 


1 84  SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

an  hour  or  two.  And  at  the  end  of  that  time  Gregory 
and  Jess  saddled  up  and  drove  on.  They  had  still 
about  twenty  miles  to  travel,  and  it  was  late  in  the 
day  when  they  arrived  at  the  Indian  cabin  where  they 
had  left  their  other  horses. 

They  had  had  not  a  bite  of  dinner,  and  both  were 
very  hungry.  On  going  to  the  house  to  see  if  they 
could  get  something  to  eat,  they  found  nobody  at  home 
but  the  two  girls,  Singing  Frog  and  Blue  Butterfly. 
The  girls  informed  the  white  men  that  their  mother 
had  gone  visiting  at  another  Creek's,  and  was  not  ex 
pected  home  till  late. 

"  Well,  there's  nothing  for  us  but  to  tough  it  out 
till  supper,  I  guess,"  Gregory  remarked,  with  a  hungry 
sigh. 

"  That  seems  to  be  the  only  chance,"  answered  Jess. 

But  here  the  two  shy  little  Creek  girls  found  cour 
age  to  speak  up: 

"I  cooka  you  something.  I  cooka  you  bread  — 
nice  bread,"  proposed  Singing  Frog. 

"  Blue  Butterfly  cooka  you  egg  —  two  egg  — more 
egg,"  announced  her  sister. 

"  Singing  Frog  cooka  you  bake  —  how  you  say  it?  " 
The  girl  made  a  motion  as  of  turning  something  with 
a  fork,  and  then  a  sizzling,  frying  sound  with  her 
lips,  and  the  white  men  understood  that  she  referred  to 
frying  bacon. 

"  Well,  if  you  will,  you  girls  shall  have  something 
pretty  the  first  time  I  go  to  Fort  Gibson,"  Gregory  as 
sured  them. 


SINGING  FROG,  BLUE  BUTTERFLY     185 

At  this  the  two  little  brown  faces  fairly  shone  with 
expectancy. 

"  Blue  Butterfly  cooka  you  chick,"  declared  that  lit 
tle  maid.  She  meant  chicken. 

The  two  girls  now  set  to  work  eagerly  to  prepare 
the  meal.  Soon  a  fire  could  be  heard  crackling  in  the 
kitchen  fireplace,  and  various  sounds  from  that  room 
told  the  hungry  men  that  cooking  was  under  way. 

When  at  length  the  meal  was  on  the  table,  it  was 
found  to  be  surprisingly  good,  especially  for  men 
with  sharp  appetites.  And  the  two  little  Indians 
glowed  with  pride  at  the  praises  their  cooking  re 
ceived.  They  hovered  about  constantly,  asking  again 
and  again  if  their  guests  would  not  like  some  of  this 
or  that.  Singing  Frog  had  taken  Jess  under  her 
special  care,  and  Blue  Butterfly  looked  after  Gregory. 

The  father  of  the  girls  came  home  while  the  white 
men  were  eating.  Gregory  and  Jess  spent  the  night 
there,  grazing  the  cattle  till  dark,  and  then  penning 
them.  Next  morning  they  hired  the  Creek  to  herd  the 
cattle  for  a  half-day,  while  they  themselves  paid  a  visit 
to  Fort  Gibson.  Burgess  was  staying  down  there  now, 
and  Johnson  went  down  every  day.  They  were  buy 
ing  supplies,  and  looking  after  their  outfitting  prepara 
tions.  Gregory  went  down  to  consult  with  his  part 
ners,  and  Jess  because  he  had  not  yet  visited  the  fort. 

When  they  returned  they  brought  some  presents  for 
the  children,  as  they  called  the  two  little  Creek  girls. 
Knowing  the  Indian  fondness  for  gaudy  colors  —  even 
the  men  wore  coats  as  gorgeous  as  a  rainbow  every 


1 86  SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

Sunday  —  they  brought  each  of  the  girls,  among  other 
things,  a  handkerchief  that  was  startling  in  the  bril 
liancy  of  its  hues.  And  they  were  soon  rewarded  by 
seeing  the  girls  peeping  around  the  sides  of  the  par 
tition-door  with  their  handkerchiefs  on  their  necks. 

"  Well,  the  next  thing  now  is  to  get  those  steers 
across,"  Gregory  remarked. 

"Yes,"  answered  Jess,  "and  if  I  don't  miss  my 
guess  we're  going  to  have  a  time  of  it  with  the  rogues." 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

THREE  PONIES  FOR  A  WIFE 

LATE  that  afternoon  Gregory  rode  up  to  the  ferry 
and  crossed  over  to  the  other  side  of  the  river,  to  visit 
the  camp  there.  He  returned  after  dark.  And  on 
the  following  morning  Sam  Patterson  the  half-breed, 
Soos  the  Mexican,  and  Hawk  Tail  the  Choctaw,  came 
over  to  help  get  the  eighty  steers  across. 

First  the  cattle  were  driven  down  to  the  river  and 
forced  into  the  water,  the  cowboys  swimming  their 
horses  after  them.  The  steers  swam  out  a  short  dis- 
rance,  then  turned  and  pointed  their  noses  down 
stream,  as  they  had  done  before.  Drivers  on  the  bank 
followed  them,  and  for  a  time  would  not  let  them  come 
out.  But  the  long-horned  fellows  obstinately  refused 
to  swim  across,  and  finally  they  were  allowed  to  land 
on  the  south  bank. 

After  resting  a  short  while,  they  were  driven  up  to 
the  original  starting  place  and  there  put  into  the  water 
again.  But  it  was  only  to  repeat  what  they  had  done 
before.  And  yet  a  third  time  they  were  tried,  with  ex 
actly  the  same  result. 

The  sun  was  now  low,  and  the  bothersome  steers 
were  driven  back  to  the  prairie  and  grazed  a  while, 
then  taken  to  the  Creek's  and  penned.  Jess  and  Greg 
ory  spent  the  night  with  the  Indian,  but  the  other 

187 


1 88  SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

hands  crossed  back  to  their  camp.  The  day  had  been 
bright  and  clear,  and  everything  indicated  that  at  last 
the  rainy  season  was  at  an  end. 

Early  on  the  following  morning  the  three  helpers 
came  over  again,  and  again  the  cattle  were  driven  down 
to  the  river,  this  time  to  the  ferry.  An  attempt  would 
be  made  to  ferry  them  across. 

The  open  end  of  the  flatboat  was  drawn  up  against 
the  bank,  and  about  twenty  steers,  cut  out  from  the 
main  bunch,  were  driven  down  to  the  boat.  But  no 
sooner  did  the  skittish  brutes  hear  the  sound  of  boards 
under  their  feet  than  they  took  fright  and  broke  away. 

When  this  had  been  repeated  several  times,  at  last 
nearly  a  dozen  of  them  were  forced  upon  the  boat. 
Then  the  end-boards  were  put  up  to  shut  them  in,  the 
ferryman  took  his  place,  and  the  boat  moved  away 
toward  the  north  bank. 

But  when  about  a  hundred  yards  out  on  the  swollen 
stream,  the  steers  took  fright  at  something,  probably 
their  strange  situation,  and  all  made  a  sudden  rush  to 
gether  toward  the  landward  end  of  the  boat.  The 
planks  were  strong  and  held  fast,  but  they  were  not 
very  high,  and  the  cattle  jumped  over  them,  plunging 
into  the  river.  They  swam  straight  to  land. 

This  plan,  too,  had  proved  a  failure,  and  the  cow 
boys  held  a  consultation.  It  was  soon  decided  to  send 
for  the  yoke-cattle,  to  be  used  in  getting  the  rebels 
across. 

So  the  six  oxen  that  pulled  the  wagon  were  brought 
over  on  the  ferry-boat.  Then  the  wild  steers  were 


THREE  PONIES  FOR  A  WIFE         189 

roped,  one  at  a  time,  and  each  one  was  dragged  up 
and  necked  to  a  gentle  ox.  In  this  way  six  of  the  wild 
fellows  were  forced  upon  the  boat  and  ferried  across. 

Then  the  oxen  were  brought  back,  and  six  more  of 
the  rebellious  animals  were  flatboated  over  in  the  same 
way. 

This  method  was  proving  effective  enough,  but  was 
very  slow,  each  round  trip  occupying  an  hour  or  longer. 
So  the  men  soon  decided  that  they  must  take  more  cat 
tle  at  each  trip. 

After  six  steers  had  been  necked  to  work-oxen  and 
driven  aboard,  others  were  roped,  thrown  down  and, 
with  their  feet  tied  together,  were  dragged  upon  the 
flatboat.  There  they  were  left  lying  till  the  boat 
reached  the  north  bank,  when  they  were  released  and 
driven  away  to  the  herd. 

These  two  methods,  hard  though  they  were,  proved 
so  effective  that  before  night  all  the  eighty-odd  rebels 
had  been  ferried  to  the  north  bank  and  were  safe 
among  the  other  cattle. 

After  the  last  boat-load  of  steers  had  started  across, 
Gregory  and  Jess  rode  back  to  the  Creek's  to  get  their 
other  horses  and  pay  for  their  lodging. 

When  the  Indian  had  told  them  how  much  he 
charged,  Gregory  paid  him  more  than  the  amount 
named,  and  Jess  handed  him  a  coin  as  a  present  for 
little  Singing  Frog.  The  Indian  seemed  much  im 
pressed  by  their  liberality,  and  very  favorably  impressed 
with  the  white  men  themselves.  Indeed,  even  before 
this  he  had  grown  very  friendly. 


190  SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

"You  likee  Creeks'  country?"  he  suddenly  de 
manded  of  Jess. 

"  Yes,  I  do  that.  It's  a  fine  country.  Believe  I'd 
like  to  live  here,"  was  the  incautious  reply. 

"You  likee  live  here,  eh?" 

"  Yes,  I'm  pretty  sure  I  would,"  answered  the  young 
cowboy,  truthfully. 

"  You  likee  my  little  Singy  Frog?  " 

"  Yes,  I  certainly  do,"  replied  the  unsuspicious  Jess, 
heartily.  "  She's  the  prettiest,  nicest  little  thing  I 
know.  And  I'm  going  to  send  her  some  —  " 

"  Then  you  gif  me  one,  two,  three  pony,  I  gif  you 
little  Singy  Frog.  Her  be  your  squaw.  You  keepee 
her  all  time  always,  same  like  I  keepee  my  squaw." 

The  look  on  Jess's  face,  of  mingled  astonishment 
and  dismay,  was,  as  Gregory  afterwards  declared,  one 
well  worth  seeing.  And  the  young  fellow  blushed  like 
a  school-girl  when  he  realized  what  this  was  —  an  of 
fer  of  marriage. 

"  That  child !  "  was  all  he  could  think  of  to  say. 

"  Singy  Frog  tink  you  likee  her.  Singy  Frog  likee 
you;  want  to  be  your  squaw  all  time  always,"  explained 
the  Creek.  "  You  gif  me  one,  two,  three  pony,  you 
takee  Singy  Frog,  keepee  Singy  Frog  all  time  always; 
long  you  live,  Singy  Frog  live." 

Jess  looked  despairingly  at  Gregory.  Phil's  eyes 
were  laughing,  but  there  was  only  a  slight  smile  on  his 
lips.  He  was  a  gentleman,  and  though  he  doubtless 
felt  a  strong  inclination  to  laugh  aloud,  politeness  re 
strained  him.  The  Indian  customs  differed  from  the 


THREE  PONIES  FOR  A  WIFE         191 

white  man's  customs ;  and  there  was  no  reason  that  this 
honest  offer  should  be  treated  with  disrespect,  or  the 
Creek's  feelings  hurt. 

"  But  I  don't  own  three  ponies,"  answered  Jess, 
jumping  at  the  only  door  of  escape  that  he  could  see. 

'  Yes,  you  got  one,  two,  three  pony,"  persisted  the 
Indian,  pointing  to  the  three  horses  he  had  seen  Jess 
hitch  to  the  yard-fence. 

"But  they're  not  mine;  they're  his."  Jess  pointed 
triumphantly  to  Gregory. 

"  You  likee  my  little  Boo  Blutterfy?  "  demanded  the 
Creek,  as  he  turned  hopefully  to  the  owner  of  the 
horses. 

"Yes,  but  —  "  began  the  surprised  white  man. 

'  You  gif  me  one,  two,  three  pony,  you  takee  Boo 
Blutterfy.  Her  be  your  squaw  all  time  always." 

Gregory  was  so  astonished  that  at  first  he  could 
think  of  nothing  to  say,  and  the  Creek  quickly  turned 
to  Jess  again. 

"  How  much  pony  you  got?  "  he  demanded. 

"  One  —  only  one." 

"  You  gif  me  one  pony  now,  you  takee  Singy  Frog. 
Some  udder  time  you  gif  me  one  pony  more,  two  pony 


more." 


Then  he  added,  by  way  of  clinching  the  matter: 
"  Me  likee  you,  me  likee  him.     Me  likee  all  good 
white  people;  good  white  people  all  likee  me."     He 
smiled  blandly. 

Gregory  had  had  time  to  recover  from  his  astonish 
ment,  and  he  now  came  to  Jess's  relief. 


192  SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

"  My  friend  here  is  too  young  to  get  married,"  he 
explained.  "  Too  young  —  too  young  —  too  young 
—  just  a  boy,"  he  added,  when  the  Creek  seemed  not 
to  understand. 

Then  he  explained  that  both  he  and  Jess  were  on  a 
journey  of  thousands  of  miles,  and  could  not  think  of 
taking  wives  with  them.  He  assured  the  Creek  that 
his  daughters  were  worth  at  least  twenty  ponies  apiece. 
He  also  assured  him  that  if  he  and  Jess  ever  came  back 
here  to  live  with  the  Indians  and  marry  Indian  wives, 
they  would  choose  Singing  Frog  and  Blue  Butterfly  in 
preference  to  any  others. 

The  Creek  was  evidently  disappointed,  but  he 
seemed  satisfied  with  the  explanation. 

While  this  conversation  was  in  progress,  Jess  and 
Gregory  had  both  been  conscious  of  bright  black  eyes 
peeping  at  them  from  between  the  logs  of  the  par 
tition-wall.  But  while  Gregory  was  explaining,  Jess 
caught  sight  of  two  little  bare-footed,  bare-headed 
figures  running  from  the  house  toward  the  woods. 
The  shy  little  red  maids  had  understood  enough  to 
know  that  their  father's  offer  was  rejected,  and  they 
were  making  for  the  brush  to  hide  their  shame  and 
confusion. 

As  the  two  white  men  were  about  to  ride  away, 
Gregory  told  the  Creek  to  be  sure  to  come  down  to 
Fort  Gibson  next  day.  And  while  riding  toward  the 
river  he  said: 

"  Now,  Jess,  we've  got  to  spend  some  money. 
We're  simply  bound  to  send  those  nice  little  girls  some 


THREE  PONIES  FOR  A  WIFE         193 

presents  that  will  more  than  console  them  for  not  get 
ting  white  husbands. " 

"  That's  right,"  agreed  Jess,  heartily.  "  And  let's 
keep  this  whole  affair  dark.  I  don't  care  to  have  all 
the  boys  laughing  at  us  and  teasing  us.  We'll  never 
hear  the  last  of  it  if  we  don't." 

"  No,  we  sha'n't.  And  as  our  Creek  friends  treated 
us  very  nicely  while  we  stayed  with  them,  we  can't  af 
ford  to  have  them  ridiculed.  So  we'll  keep  this  whole 
matter  between  ourselves." 

And  that  was  just  what  they  did.  Next  day  they 
rode  down  to  the  fort,  where  they  bought  several  pres 
ents  —  Indian  finery  —  and  sent  them  to  Singing  Frog 
and  Blue  Butterfly  by  the  girls'  father.  The  girls 
themselves  they  did  not  see  again.  Long,  long  after 
wards  Jess,  gazing  back  dim-eyed  through  more  than 
fifty  years,  would  say: 

"Nice  little  Singing  Frog!  She  was  a  pretty  little 
girl  if  she  was  red.  I  hope  she  brought  her  father 
many  ponies  and  found  a  good  husband.  That  was 
the  only  offer  of  marriage  I've  ever  had." 

Both  Jess  and  Gregory  were  curious  to  know  what 
that  midnight  gathering  of  armed  Indians  that  Jess 
had  witnessed  had  meant.  They  made  inquiries  while 
in  the  fort,  and  afterwards  in  the  country  as  they  were 
riding  about,  but  nobody  seemed  able  to  suggest  a  satis 
factory  explanation.  Every  person  they  talked  with 
agreed  that  the  Indians  must  have  been  out  on  some 
business  of  a  questionable  kind,  but  what  that  business 
was  Jess  never  learned. 


194  SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

After  turning  over  the  presents  to  the  Creek,  and 
attending  to  such  other  business  as  they  had  in  the  fort, 
Jess  and  Gregory  mounted  their  horses  and  started 
back  to  camp.  Fort  Gibson  stood  a  mile  or  more  from 
the  Arkansas,  on  the  bank  of  a  tributary  stream  known 
here  as  Grand  River,  but  further  up  as  the  Neosho. 
Returning  to  camp,  they  had  to  cross  both  this  stream 
and  the  Verdigris.  Grand  River  was  fordable,  but 
the  Verdigris  had  to  be  swum.  The  road  led  up  the 
north  bank  of  the  Arkansas. 

When  about  a  mile  from  the  fort,  Gregory  and  Jess 
noticed  a  saddled  and  bridled  horse  grazing  not  many 
yards  from  the  road-side.  They  recognized  the  animal 
as  one  of  their  own,  and  looked  to  see  who  had  ridden 
him. 

In  the  shade  of  an  elm  they  soon  discovered  a  man, 
lying  with  his  hat  over  his  face.  He  seemed  to  be 
asleep.  They  recognized  the  Deserter. 

"Hello,  General!  What  you  doing  here?"  Greg 
ory  called  out,  as  the  two  rode  up  to  where  the  former 
soldier  was  sprawled  on  the  ground.  "  Are  you  sick?  " 
he  added,  when  the  man  made  no  reply. 

The  Deserter  neither  moved  nor  spoke,  and  Jess 
dismounted  to  learn  what  was  the  matter.  A  nearly 
empty  whisky-bottle  protruding  from  the  fellow's 
pocket  told  that  he  was  drunk. 

"Well,  now,  doesn't  that  beat  you?"  exclaimed 
Gregory.  "  Wonder  where  the  poor  fool  got  any 
money.  I  didn't  think  he  had  enough  to  buy  a  bottle 
of  snake-juice." 


THREE  PONIES  FOR  A  WIFE         195 

As  they  afterwards  learned,  the  Deserter  had  per 
suaded  Burgess  to  advance  him  money  to  buy  some 
things  he  would  need  on  the  long  journey  to  Cali 
fornia,  particularly  a  gun.  But  the  former  soldier  did 
not  get  as  far  as  the  fort.  Meeting  a  whisky-peddler 
somewhere  on  the  way,  he  exchanged  his  last  dollar 
for  liquor  and  was  soon  past  traveling. 

Gregory  was  disgusted.  "  We'll  fix  Mr.  De 
serter!  "  he  announced.  And  when  they  rode  on  they 
were  leading  the  intoxicated  man's  horse. 

"  We're  leaving  him  here  between  two  rivers," 
laughed  Jess.  "  He  can't  cross  the  Verdigris  without 
swimming,  nor  Grand  River  without  deep  wading,  and 
he  won't  be  likely  to  do  either.  So  we're  not  apt  to  set 
eyes  on  him  again." 

"-It  would  only  be  a  good  riddance,"  answered 
Gregory.  "  That's  what  I've  told  Burgess  time  and 
again.  He'd  be  glad  enough  to  let  the  fellow  go  if 
there  were  plenty  of  hands;  but  he  thinks  we  can  use 
him  for  a  teamster  from  here  on.  I  tell  him  that  a 
hand  that  can't  be  depended  on  is  just  a  little  worse 
than  nobody." 

"  The  chances  are  that  he  would  desert  if  we  ever 
got  into  some  tight  place,  where  we  needed  him  badly." 

"  So  I've  suggested  to  Burgess,"  Gregory  said. 
"  But  he  insists  that  the  fellow  won't  dare  desert  after 
we  get  a  few  days'  travel  from  Fort  Gibson;  that  he 
would  die  in  the  wilderness  if  he  did." 

But  they  had  not  got  rid  of  the  Deserter  yet  —  far 
from  it.  Some  time  the  following  day  he  slouched  into 


196  SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

camp,  looking  much  the  worse  for  his  drunken  de 
bauch.  He  explained  that  he  had  swum  the  Verdi 
gris.  Gregory  gave  him  to  understand  that  he  was 
not  needed  any  more,  but  the  fellow  remained  in  camp, 
insisting  that  he  was  waiting  to  see  Burgess  again. 

"  It'll  be  just  like  Joe  to  tell  him  he  can  stay,"  Greg 
ory  said  to  Jess.  "  And  if  he  does,  my  word  for  it  we 
shall  have  trouble  with  the  tricky  rascal  before  we're 
done  with  him." 

He  was  right.  Hands  proved  to  be  scarce  here, 
especially  reliable  ones.  The  first  time  Burgess  re 
turned  to  camp  from  the  fort,  he  had  a  talk  with  the 
former  soldier.  Finally,  after  exacting  some  pledges 
of  good  conduct,  he  agreed  to  keep  him  for  one  of  their 
teamsters. 

"  We  know  just  how  worthless  this  fellow  is,  and 
that's  more  than  we  can  say  of  any  new  man  we  may 
hire,"  was  Burgess's  philosophic  way  of  looking  at  the 
matter,  when  Gregory  protested.  And,  as  usual,  Bur 
gess  had  his  way. 

Gregory's  prediction  that  the  Deserter  would  cause 
the  outfit  trouble  was  also  fulfilled.  But  that  did  not 
come  till  a  good  while  later. 


CHAPTER  XIX 

OUTFITTING  FOR  THE  WILDERNESS 

WHILE  Burgess  and  Johnson  were  down  at  the  fort, 
laying  in  supplies,  Gregory  and  Jess  were  left  in  charge 
of  the  camp  and  the  cattle.  They  were  not  at  all  busy, 
and  every  day  one  of  them  rode  down  to  the  fort. 

One  morning  Jess  started  up  the  river  for  a  ride, 
and  to  look  at  the  country.  After  going  about  three 
miles,  he  discovered  a  wagon-train  camped  in  some 
open  woods.  He  changed  his  course  so  as  to  pass 
through  the  camp.  There  were  sixty  or  seventy 
wagons,  scattered  over  many  acres. 

Scarcely  had  he  entered  the  camp  when  a  masculine 
voice  called  out: 

"  Hello,  there,  young  man !  What  are  you  doing 
here?" 

Jess  turned  instantly,  and  was  much  surprised  to  see 
Adams  walking  out  to  meet  him.  They  greeted  each 
other  heartily,  and  Jess  was  soon  sitting  at  the  door  of 
their  tent,  talking  with  Adams  and  his  wife  and  Sally 
of  the  things  that  had  happened  to  all  of  them  since 
they  parted,  that  day  on  the  Brazos. 

Jess  was  informed  that  all  the  people  camped  here 
were  Mormons.  This  was  a  Mormon  rendezvous, 
where  converts  to  that  faith  from  Texas,  Arkansas  and 
the  country  farther  east  were  gathering,  preparatory 

197 


198  SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

to  making  the  journey  to  Great  Salt  Lake.  Adams 
had  arrived  only  a  day  or  two  before.  The  wagon- 
train  would  start  inside  of  a  week. 

Jess  remained  an  hour  or  two,  and  was  urged  to  wait 
for  dinner,  but  declined. 

"  I  must  get  back  to  camp.  Phil  Gregory  is  there, 
and  I  know  he'll  be  very  much  interested  in  my  dis 
covery,"  he  said,  with  a  significant  look  at  Sally 
Adams.  "  He  was  woefully  disappointed  when  we 
went  to  your  house  that  day  and  found  you  gone." 

The  young  woman  blushed  slightly,  but  hastened  to 
say  that  they  hoped  to  see  both  Mr.  Gregory  and  the 
other  Californians  soon.  Adams  and  his  wife  seconded 
the  invitation,  and  included  Jess  in  it. 

Jess  had  guessed  rightly  when  he  said  that  Gregory 
would  be  interested  in  knowing  that  the  Adams  family 
were  so  near.  Phil  had  intended  to  go  down  to  the 
fort  that  afternoon,  but  instead  of  that  he  shaved, 
changed  his  clothes  and  rode  up  to  the  Mormon  camp. 

During  the  next  few  days  the  responsibility  of  tak 
ing  care  of  the  cattle  devolved  largely  upon  Jess.  And 
it  did  not  suffer  on  that  account.  When  Gregory  was 
not  at  the  Mormon  camp  he  was  down  at  Fort  Gibson, 
trying  to  hurry  the  outfitting  preparations. 

"  Those  Mormons  are  going  to  start  now  in  three 
or  four  days,"  he  said  to  Jess  once,  "  and  we  ought  by 
all  means  to  start  with  them.  There'll  be  about  eighty 
wagons  of  them  when  the  others  get  here,  and  at  least 
a  hundred  men  that  can  fight.  Reports  are  coming  in 
that  the  plains  Indians  are  very  troublesome  now.  A 


"  MISTER,   YOU   ARE   NOT   WANTED   IN   THIS   CAMP." 


OUTFITTING  FOR  THE  WILDERNESS      199 

number  of  caravans  have  been  attacked  by  them  during 
the  last  month  or  two.  And  even  if  we  don't  travel 
with  the  Mormons,  our  party  and  theirs  ought  to  keep 
within  sight  of  each  other,  so  that  if  either  is  attacked 
the  other  can  go  to  the  rescue." 

"  That's  only  common  prudence,"  agreed  Jess, 
though  he  smiled;  for  he  well  knew  that  Gregory  had 
not  mentioned  his  main  reason  for  wanting  to  keep 
close  to  that  Mormon  wagon-train. 

"  And  you  may  say  what  you  please  about  the  Mor 
mons  as  a  class,"  Gregory  went  on,  "  but  that  outfit  up 
there  are  good  people,  Mormons  or  what  not." 

"  If  they're  all  like  the  Adams  family  they  are." 

But  Gregory's  good  opinion  of  the  Mormons  was 
destined  to  undergo  an  early  and  decided  change. 
Late  one  afternoon  he  returned  from  a  visit  to  their 
camp  with  his  face  red  with  anger.  He  dismounted 
some  yards  from  the  camp,  and  while  unsaddling  his 
horse  beckoned  to  Jess. 

"  What  do  you  think  happened  to  me  up  there  among 
that  polygamous,  heathen  crew?"  he  demanded. 

"  I  don't  know,  Phil.  From  your  looks,  it  must 
have  been  something  unpleasant." 

"  Unpleasant !  I  never  was  so  mad  in  my  life ! 
Just  after  I  left  the  camp  a  fellow  I'd  never  seen  be 
fore  stepped  out  of  the  woods  in  front  of  me  and  said: 
'  Mister,  you  are  not  wanted  in  this  camp,  and  if  you 
take  a  fool's  advice  you'll  make  yourself  scarce  around 
here.'  And  then  he  turned  and  disappeared  before  I 
could  answer  a  word.  In  fact,  I  was  astounded  —  too 


200  SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

much  astounded  to  say  anything  for  a  few  moments. 
But  I  had  plenty  to  say  after  that,  I  can  tell  you,  if 
there'd  been  anybody  to  say  it  to." 

"  And  are  you  going  to  take  the  fool's  advice?  " 

"Take  his  advice?  Of  course  not!  There's  only 
one  person  in  that  camp  that  can  send  me  out  of  it  to 
stay,  and  she's  far  enough  from  doing  it.  I'm  going 
back  to-morrow,  and  if  anybody  interferes  with  me  —  " 
He  tapped  the  handle  of  his  six-shooter. 

"  Phil,  Phil,  you're  excited,"  answered  Jess.  "  You 
don't  want  to  do  anything  reckless.  Those  people  all 
stand  together,  I  imagine;  and  a  quarrel  with  one  will 
mean  a  quarrel  with  all.  And  it's  certainly  poor  policy 
to  quarrel  with  them  if  we're  going  to  travel  with 
them." 

"  Just  the  same,  I'm  going  back,"  declared  Gregory. 
And  the  other  knew  that  he  meant  it,  and  would  do 
what  he  said. 

"  And  just  the  same,"  remarked  Jess,  "  there'll  be 
trouble  sooner  or  later  if  you  do." 

True  to  his  word,  Gregory  paid  another  visit  to  the 
Mormon  camp  next  morning,  to  see  Miss  Sally  Adams. 
And  he  did  not  return  to  his  own  camp  till  noon. 

"  Well,  what  did  your  polygamist  friends  do  to  you 
and  say  to  you  up  there?  "  inquired  Jess. 

"  Not  a  thing,  not  a  word,"  answered  Gregory. 
"  The  dog  that  barks  loudest  seldom  bites.  I  rode 
into  the  camp  boldly,  as  if  I  owned  the  whole  shebang, 
and  had  come  to  take  possession  of  it.  Every  Mor 
mon  I  saw  I  looked  him  defiantly  in  the  face.  I 


OUTFITTING  FOR  THE  WILDERNESS      201 

wanted  them  to  understand  they  couldn't  scare  me." 

1  You  must  have  gone  hunting  for  trouble,  Phil. 
Better  go  a  little  slow.  You  might  find  more  than  you 
want.  You  know  there  are  bad  reports  out  about 
those  people.  They  might  do  worse  than  scare  you, 
especially  if  you  irritate  them." 

"  There  are  bad  reports  about  the  Salt  Lake  Mor 
mons.  I've  never  heard  any  about  these." 

"  No,  not  yet.  But  they're  all  alike,  I  guess,  or 
soon  will  be.  Adams  rather  boasted  that  the  man  in 
charge  of  the  whole  party  is  from  Salt  Lake,  and  a 
particular  friend  of  Brigham  Young.  What  he  says 
goes  with  them.  It's  generally  understood  they  know 
how  to  get  rid  of  people  that  are  troublesome  to 
them." 

"  Yes,  they  may;  but  they'll  have  a  hard  job  getting 
rid  of  me  for  the  present.  I  expect  to  stick  to  them 
like  a  leech  from  here  to  Salt  Lake." 

In  spite  of  Gregory's  efforts  to  hurry  the  outfitting 
preparations,  it  soon  became  evident  that  the  Bar- 
Circlers  could  not  start  with  the  Mormons.  There  was 
so  much  to  be  done.  When  a  wagon  had  been  bought 
at  the  fort  and  loaded  with  supplies,  oxen  were  sent 
down  for  it,  to  bring  it  out  to  the  camp.  No  teams 
were  bought,  all  the  work-animals  needed  being  taken 
from  the  herd.  Among  the  twenty-five  hundred 
steers  were  thirty  or  forty  which,  like  Ball  the  bell- 
steer,  had  had  experience  under  the  yoke.  Some  of 
these  had  grown  rather  wild,  and  had  to  be  retamed. 
But  there  were  not  enough  of  these  for  all  the  wagons, 


202  SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

and  nearly  as  many  wild  steers  had  to  be  taken  out  of 
the  herd  and  broken  to  work.  And  this  proved  a  task 
that  kept  all  hands  busy  for  days. 

One  afternoon  Phil  Gregory  returned  from  a  visit 
to  the  Mormon  camp,  and  said : 

"  Well,  Jess,  I  got  another  warning  to-day." 

"  How  was  that?" 

"  Just  after  I  started  home  a  small  boy  ran  up  and 
handed  me  a  piece  of  paper,  then  turned  and  ran 
away.  Here's  the  paper.  It  says: 

"  '  If  you  don't  keep  away  from  this  camp,  your 
friends  may  look  for  you  in  the  Arkansas.'  ' 

"  That's  a  cold-blooded  threat,"  remarked  Jess, 
after  a  glance  at  the  paper.  "  What  are  you  going  to 
do  about  it?  " 

"  Just  what  I  did  with  the  other  —  pay  no  attention 
to  it." 

"You're  going  back,  then?" 

"  Of  course  I'm  going  back.  The  party  are  expect 
ing  to  start  some  time  in  the  forenoon  to-morrow,  and 
I  told  Miss  Adams  I'd  be  there  to  see  them  off.  And 
I'll  keep  my  word." 

"  Then  you'd  better  take  a  lot  of  the  boys  with  you, 
to  make  sure  that  nothing  happens  to  you." 

"  I  don't  want  any  crowd,  Jess." 

"  You'd  better  take  at  least  one  man.  If  those 
warnings  are  for  any  purpose  but  to  scare  you,  there'll 
be  less  danger  for  two  than  for  one." 

"  All  right.  You  might  go  with  me.  I'm 
not  afraid  of  the  whole  polygamous  gang!  I  want 


OUTFITTING  FOR  THE  WILDERNESS      203 

that  understood.  But  you  want  to  see  the  Adamses 
again,  anyhow,  I've  no  doubt." 

So  next  morning,  soon  after  breakfast,  Gregory  and 
Jess  set  out  for  the  Mormon  camp.  As  they  were 
riding  along  at  an  easy  gait,  Gregory  said: 

"  Have  you  read  much  of  Washington  Irving's  writ 
ings,  Jess?  " 

'  Well,  not  so  very  much.  I've  read  Rip  Van 
Winkle  and  the  Legend  of  Sleepy  Hollow.  Nobody 
could  ever  forget  those." 

u  No,  I  should  say  not.  Irving  is  my  favorite 
author.  I've  read  everything  he  ever  wrote,  I  think. 
But  he  hasn't  written  anything  that  I  like  better  than 
*  A  Tour  of  the  Prairies.'  I  first  read  it  when  I  was 
a  boy,  and  fell  in  love  with  it.  And  I've  read  it  at 
least  a  dozen  times  since.  What  makes  me  speak  of 
it  is  that  the  trip  he  describes,  or  at  least  the  part  he 
describes  in  detail,  began  right  here  at  Fort  Gibson." 

"  It  did?     When  was  Irving  here?  " 

"  In  the  fall  of  1832  —  nearly  twenty-two  years  ago. 
They  outfitted  here,  and  traveled  up  the  Arkansas  a 
good  many  miles,  as  we're  going  to  do.  Later  they 
crossed  over  and  made  a  considerable  trip  to  the  west, 
as  far  as  the  headwaters  of  Red  River.  I've  got  the 
book  among  my  things  in  the  wagon,  and  if-  you  care  to 
read  it  I'll  lend  it  to  you." 

"  Why,  yes;  I'd  be  glad  to  read  it." 

"  Like  nearly  everything  else  Irving  has  written,  it 
makes  cheerful  reading.  One  of  the  things  hard  to 
forget  is  the  little  dog  in  the  blacksmith  shop,  waiting 


204  SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

for  his  turn  to  be  shod.  Another  is  the  skunk  that 
little  Tonish,  Irving's  hired  man,  had  prepared  to 
cook.  Irving  chucked  the  nasty  mess  into  the  river  on 
the  sly." 

The  two  horsemen  were  now  nearing  the  Mormon 
camp.  They  rode  boldly  into  it,  and  stopped  at  Ad 
ams's  wagon.  Everywhere  throughout  the  camp 
preparations  were  already  under  way  for  an  early 
start.  Most  of  the  men  had  their  oxen  yoked,  and  a 
few  of  the  teams  had  been  put  to  the  wagons. 

It  appeared  to  Jess  that  Adams  was  not  particularly 
glad  to  see  Gregory.  But  Sally  Adams  evidently  was, 
and  Phil  probably  never  so  much  as  noticed  the  lack 
of  warmth  in  her  uncle's  manner. 

While  Gregory  was  talking  to  the  young  woman, 
Jess  talked  mostly  with  her  uncle.  Adams  had  his 
oxen  yoked,  and  was  dipping  their  feet  in  hot  tallow. 
This  was  supposed  to  toughen  and  harden  their  hoofs 
for  the  journey.  Jess  helped  with  the  work,  which 
was  rather  difficult.  For  every  now  and  then  one  of 
those  long-legged  brutes  would  send  both  pan  and  hot 
grease  flying. 

Adams  was  one  of  the  first  to  start.  While  the  two 
visitors  were  saying  good-bye,  Gregory  remarked : 

"  We  expect  to  be  on  the  road  in  two  or  three  days; 
and  we  shall  probably  overtake  you  before  long.  If 
you  look  back  from  the  highest  places,  you  may  catch 
sight  of  us.  When  we  get  close  enough,  Jess  and  I 
will  ride  ahead  to  learn  how  you're  standing  the  trip." 

"  I'm  sure  we  shall  be  glad  to  see  both  of  you,"  an- 


OUTFITTING  FOR  THE  WILDERNESS      205 

swered  Sally,  who,  though  modest  enough,  was  never 
afraid  to  speak  for  herself. 

But  Jess  noticed  that  neither  Adams  nor  his  wife 
said  anything.  And  he  had  more  than  a  suspicion 
that  both  of  them  would  have  been  better  pleased  if 
the  Bar-Circlers,  or  at  least  Phil  Gregory,  had  been  go 
ing  to  travel  in  some  other  direction. 


CHAPTER  XX 

NORTHWESTWARD   HO ! 

INSTEAD  of  returning  as  they  had  come,  Jess  and 
Gregory  rode  out  upon  the  high  prairie.  Dismount 
ing  there,  they  stood  watching  the  nearly  eighty  wagons 
file  out  of  the  woods  and  start  on  their  long  journey. 
It  was  an  interesting  sight,  that  great  wagon-train,  and 
the  two  men  gazed  at  it  till  the  last  of  the  ox-drawn, 
canvas-topped  wagons  had  disappeared.  Then  they 
rode  back  to  their  own  camp. 

The  three  days  following  were  busy  ones  for  all  the 
Bar-Circle  Outfit.  That  same  afternoon  Jess  rode 
down  to  the  fort  and  bought  a  good  rifle,  plenty  of 
ammunition,  and  such  other  things  as  he  needed  or  ex 
pected  to  need.  For  they  were  now  about  to  plunge 
into  the  wilderness,  and  it  would  be  long  before  they 
would  have  an  opportunity  to  supply  their  wants  again. 
The  other  hands,  or  such  of  them  as  had  not  already 
gone,  also  went  down  and  armed  themselves.  From 
here  on  most  of  their  journey  would  be  through  an 
Indian  country,  and  there  was  no  telling  when  or  how 
often  they  would  have  to  fight  for  their  lives. 

On  the  fourth  morning  after  the  Mormon  wagon- 
train  had  started,  the  Bar-Circle  Outfit  took  the  same 
trail.  Their  caravan  was  longer  now.  For  behind 
the  lengthy  line  of  beeves  came  a  string  of  eight  white- 

206 


IT   WAS   AN   INTERESTING   SIGHT,    THAT   GREAT   WAGON   TRAIN. 


NORTHWESTWARD  HO!  207 

topped  wagons,  each  drawn  by  from  three  to  six  yoke 
of  oxen  —  a  considerable  wagon-train  of  itself. 

At  the  head  of  the  line  rode  Jess  Holloway,  as  be 
fore.  But  on  the  opposite  side  was  Sam  Patterson, 
the  half-breed.  Next  behind  Sam,  but  a  good  dis 
tance  back,  came  Hawk  Tail  the  Choctaw.  And  next 
behind  Jess,  on  the  same  side,  rode  Soos  the  Mexican. 
All  these  had  proved  themselves  good  hands.  Behind 
them  the  other  cowboys  were  scattered  at  regular  inter 
vals.  Burgess,  with  those  precious  saddle-bags  — 
much  lightened  by  the  outfitting,  however  —  still 
brought  up  the  rear.  Granny,  the  cook,  mounted  on 
a  gentle  horse,  was  also  helping  to  drive. 

Thus  the  caravan  made  a  new  start  on  its  way  to 
the  far  Pacific.  Now  it  was  moving  toward  —  though 
not  directly  toward  —  its  destination.  The  time  was 
about  the  middle  of  June,  and  the  weather  was  clear 
and  still  pleasant.  The  whole  party,  numbering  more 
than  twenty  souls,  were  setting  out  with  strong  courage 
and  high  hopes. 

Again,  as  on  the  first  morning,  Jess  Holloway,  gal 
loping  up  and  down  by  the  tramping  line  of  long- 
horns,  was  seeing  visions  of  a  wonderful  journey. 
But  his  youthful  enthusiasm  was  sobered  by  the  re 
flection  that,  since  Ed  Simpson  had  fallen  by  the  way, 
he  himself,  though  the  youngest  member  of  the  party, 
was  the  acknowledged  leader  of  the  drivers,  and  the 
one  most  trusted  by  his  employers.  And  he  knew  that 
in  his  position  no  small  share  of  responsibility  rested 
upon  him. 


208  SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

For  a  time  occasional  cabins  could  be  seen  —  cabins 
of  the  Creek  and  perhaps  other  Indians.  But  soon  the 
last  human  habitation  had  been  left  behind,  and  the 
Bar-Circle  caravan  plunged  into  the  great,  savage-in 
fested  wilderness.  They  had  passed  through  many 
hardships  already,  but  greater  hardships,  mingled  with 
dangers,  awaited  them. 

One  afternoon  in  the  latter  part  of  June,  a  great 
cloud  of  dust  might  have  been  seen  rolling  up  the 
valley  of  the  Arkansas.  The  cloud  was  both  wide  and 
long  —  far  longer  than  it  was  wide  —  and  while  its 
base  moved  along  the  ground,  its  upper  part  floated 
high  in  air.  Under  it  a  big  but  scarcely  discernible 
drove  of  steers  were  tramping  steadily,  doggedly. 
Some  of  them  had  their  mouths  open;  for  besides  the 
dust  the  sun  was  blazing  down,  and  the  heat  was  fright 
ful. 

Along  the  edges  of  the  cloud  hovered  the  drivers. 
Sometimes  they  dashed  in  to  hurry  the  lagging  cattle, 
and  then  dashed  back  to  the  open  air  to  breathe.  Not 
only  their  hats  and  clothes  and  their  horses,  but  their 
hands  and  faces  were  thickly  coated  over  with  gray. 

"  Sam,  don't  you  wish  we  had  some  of  that  rain  that 
nearly  drowned  us  back  there  in  the  Nation  ?"  Jess 
Holloway  called  out  to  the  cowboy  opposite  him. 
They  had  ridden  far  enough  ahead  of  the  cattle  to 
catch  sight  of  each  other. 

"  Yes,  I  do.  This  is  the  worst  I've  ever  seen,"  re 
plied  the  half-breed,  fairly  gasping  in  the  dust.  *  Yes 
terday  was  bad  enough,  but  it  wasn't  a  patching  to 


NORTHWESTWARD  HO!  209 

to-day.  And  the  sun  —  did  you  ever  run  into  such 
broiling  weather?  " 

"  It's  pretty  severe,  Sam.  But  I  wouldn't  mind  the 
heat  so  much  if  it  wasn't  for  this  fog.  There's  just 
breeze  enough  to  keep  our  dust  afloat,  and  it's  in  the 
right  direction  and  blows  just  hard  enough  to  hold  the 
dust  over  us.  Not  much  hope  for  relief  till  the  wind 
changes,  or  we  get  a  shower." 

"  That  Mormon  outfit  has  ground  the  trail  to 
powder,  and  now  we  come  along  and  get  it  all,"  the 
half-breed  grumbled.  "  I  wish  we  were  ahead  of 
them.  Our  own  dust  is  enough,  without  having  to 
smother  in  somebody  else's." 

"  Well,  there's  one  consolation,  Sam.  We're  climb 
ing  —  climbing  all  the  time.  When  we  get  five  or  six 
thousand  feet  above  sea-level,  it  won't  be  sultry  any 
more,  they  say.  Just  the  sight  of  a  snow-capped 
mountain  would  do  me  good  to-day." 

4  The  Arkansas  is  fed  by  melting  snows,  isn't  it?  " 

"  Yes.  But  that's  a  long,  long  way  from  here. 
That  water  yonder  may  be  snow-water,  but  it  looks  like 
it's  almost  simmering  in  the  sun.  And  those  sand-bars 
would  roast  an  egg.  Still,  I'd  like  a  swim  out  there, 
and  I'm  going  to  have  one  just  as  soon  as  we  stop." 

"  So  am  I,"  replied  the  half-breed. 

All  the  afternoon  the  sun  blazed  down  in  its  fury 
upon  the  prairie  and  river  and  the  wide,  beaten  trail. 
And  all  the  afternoon  the  great  dust-cloud  hung  over 
and  enveloped  the  marching  caravan. 

The  trail  seldom  withdrew  far  from  the  Arkansas. 


210  SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

Often  it  ran  only  a  few  yards  from  the  river-bank. 
The  timber  that  had  fringed  the  stream  for  a  good 
distance  up  had  disappeared,  and  now  only  an  occa 
sional  cottonwood  was  to  be  seen.  The  river's  banks 
were  low  and  its  channel  wide.  The  flood  that  had 
been  rolling  down  here  only  a  few  weeks  before  had 
drained  out,  and  now  part  of  the  sandy  bed  was  dry. 
The  white  bars  lay  glimmering  in  the  glare  of  the 
summer  sunshine. 

The  half-breed  uttered  a  shout.  "  Look  yonder !  " 
he  called,  pointing  to  a  distant  rise. 

Jess  turned  quickly.  Two  horsemen  were  standing 
on  the  crest  of  the  rise,  outlined  against  the  sky.  Far 
away  though  they  were,  he  easily  recognized  them  as 
Indians  —  Indian  spies.  For  the  caravan  was  now  in 
the  country  of  the  hostiles,  both  Pawnees  and  Coman- 
ches.  These  were  not  the  first  that  had  been  seen. 

"  They're  watching  us  like  hawks.  I  wonder  what 
they  think  of  us." 

'  They're  thinking  how  they'd  like  to  kill  and  scalp 
us  all,  and  then  plunder  our  wagons,  I  guess,"  replied 
Sam. 

Half  a  dozen  times  that  afternoon  the  cowboys 
noticed  those  mounted  spies.  For  some  unknown 
reason,  the  Indians  were  keeping  a  close  watch  on  the 
caravan.  They  bobbed  up  on  every  mound  or  rise. 

Little  groups  of  grazing  buffaloes  could  also  be  seen 
—  dark  spots  on  the  sunburnt  hills.  Sometimes  fifty  or 
a  hundred  of  them,  drinking  at  the  river,  would  take 
fright  at  the  approaching  caravan  and  go  lumbering 


NORTHWESTWARD  HO !  211 

away  across  the  valley  at  the  top  of  their  awkward 
speed. 

When  at  last  the  sun  was  not  very  high,  the  cattle 
were  turned  down  to  the  river  for  water,  and  then 
allowed  to  scatter  over  the  valley  to  graze.  Passing 
by  them,  the  wagons  stopped  in  a  semi-circle  farther 
up,  the  river-bank  forming  one  side  of  the  camp,  like 
a  string  to  a  bow.  There  the  teamsters  unyoked  their 
oxen,  belling  one  and  hobbling  several,  and  let  them 

go- 
No  sooner  had  the  cowboys  caught  fresh  horses  and 
staked  them,  and  unsaddled  and  turned  loose  their 
tired  ones,  than  all  the  men  hurried  down  to  the  water's 
edge  for  a  swim.  So  dusty  were  they  as  to  be  scarcely 
recognizable.  A  buffalo-path  led  down  the  bank.  At 
the  bottom  was  a  narrow,  sandy  bench,  on  which  grew 
a  good-sized  cottonwood.  Here  the  party  threw  off 
their  clothes.  Deep  water  came  close  up  to  the  bench. 
All  were  soon  in  the  river  —  owners,  cowboys, 
teamsters  and  cook  —  everybody  except  the  two 
herders  with  the  cattle.  And  a  lively,  noisy  party  they 
made,  swimming  and  diving,  and  ducking  one  another 
like  playful  school-boys.  All  were  good  swimmers, 
but  the  two  most  at  home  in  the  water  were  Hawk 
Tail,  the  long-haired  Choctaw,  and  the  Deserter. 
Everybody  was  surprised  at  the  latter;  for,  with  the 
exception  of  bragging,  this  was  the  only  thing  the 
former  soldier  had  been  known  to  do  well. 

After  half  an  hour  or  so  Burgess  left  the  water  and 
stood  on  the  bank  to  dry.  As  he  stood  in  plain  view, 


212  SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

many  curious  eyes  were  turned  toward  his  scarred  back. 
Jess  noticed  that  the  scars  beginning  on  his  neck  ex 
tended  downward  a  foot  or  more.  Vividly  they  re 
called  that  camp-fire  story  of  Burgess's  bear-hunt. 
They  had  been  made  by  the  stroke  of  the  grizzly's 
paw.  Jess  could  distinctly  see  where  the  claws  had 
plowed  their  way  down  through  the  flesh. 

On  Burgess's  left  thigh  were  other  frightful  scars, 
where  the  grizzly  had  seized  him,  the  big  teeth  man 
gling  the  flesh  and  crushing  the  bone. 

Burgess  had  his  saddle-bags  lying  with  his  clothes. 
Having  dressed,  he  picked  them  up,  climbed  the  bank 
with  them,  and  walked  over  to  the  wagons. 

After  leaving  the  water,  several  of  the  men  washed 
their  shirts  and  spread  them  on  the  grass  to  dry.  A 
few  had  clean  shirts  to  put  on,  but  others  went  about 
with  the  upper  parts  of  their  bodies  bare. 

Jess  and  Phil  Gregory  were  the  last  to  come  out. 
While  they  were  dressing,  Gregory  said: 

"  Jess,  how  close  behind  our  Mormon  friends  do 
you  think  we  are?  " 

"  Well,  we're  not  in  sight.  But  from  the  appear 
ance  of  that  camp  we  passed  this  morning,  we  must 
be  gaining  on  them." 

"  I  didn't  notice  any  fire  there.  Nothing  but  dead 
ashes  that  I  could  see." 

"  No.  But  fires  made  of  buffalo-chips  die  out  quick. 
And  the  drift-wood,  if  they  used  any,  would  either  be 
very  dry,  and  soon  burn  up,  or  water-soaked,  and  soon 
quit  burning.  You  couldn't  expect  such  fires  as  those 


NORTHWESTWARD  HO!  213 

to  last  long.  We  ought  to  be  able  to  catch  sight  of 
their  dust  to-morrow  or  next  day." 

It  was  twelve  o'clock  that  night  when  Jess  went  on 
herd-duty.  There  were  four  of  the  night-herders  out 
at  the  same  time  now.  Ever  since  entering  the  coun 
try  of  the  hostile  Indians,  they  had  been  keeping  a 
double  guard  around  the  cattle  at  night.  And  every 
man  carried  his  gun  while  patrolling  the  herd. 

A  good  while  after  Jess  had  begun  his  two-hours' 
ride,  he  was  startled  by  hearing  the  roaring  of  hoofs 
coming  from  some  low  hills  that  bordered  the  valley 
on  the  north.  At  first  he  was  under  the  impression 
that  there  must  be  another  herd  of  cattle  over  there 
somewhere,  and  that  they  had  stampeded.  But  he 
soon  realized  the  truth,  and  quickly  shouted: 

"It's  buffaloes,  boys!  They're  making  this  way! 
Let's  head 'em  off!" 


CHAPTER  XXI 

BURGESS'S  SADDLE-BAGS  STOLEN 

AWAY  the  four  horsemen  dashed,  to  meet  the  wild 
herd.  From  the  noise  made,  they  knew  there  must  be 
several  hundred  of  the  buffaloes.  The  moon  was  shin 
ing,  and  no  sooner  had  those  shaggy,  awkward  forms 
become  visible  than  the  cowboys  began  to  yell  to  split 
their  throats,  and  to  wave  their  hats  and  fire  their  six- 
shooters.  The  buffaloes  promptly  wheeled,  heading 
in  another  direction,  and  thundered  away  till  they 
passed  out  of  sight. 

When,  the  danger  averted,  the  herders  returned  to 
the  cattle,  they  found  every  steer  on  his  feet.  But  all 
were  standing  quietly. 

The  time  of  Jess  and  the  three  herders  with  him 
had  now  expired,  and  he  rode  to  the  camp  to  send  out 
the  relief.  There  he  found  everybody  up  and  much 
excited,  and  armed  and  ready  for  battle. 

"What's  the  matter  with  all  you  people?"  he  de 
manded,  in  surprise. 

"  Why,  we  thought  the  Pawnees  had  attacked  you, 
Jess,"  answered  Burgess.  "  What  were  you  making 
so  much  noise  about?  " 

"  Oh,  that's  all  over  now,"  he  replied.  Then  he 
told  what  had  happened,  adding:  "  I  have  a  sus 
picion  that  there  may  have  been  Indians  somewhere 

214 


BURGESS'S  SADDLE-BAGS  STOLEN     215 

behind  those  buffaloes.  They  drove  the  buffaloes  down 
on  us  to  stampede  our  cattle.  And  the  wonder  is  that 
they  didn't  succeed.  If  the  buffaloes  had  once  got 
among  the  steers,  there  would  have  been  the  wildest 
kind  of  a  stampede.  It  was  a  close  call/' 

Jess  had  met  the  men  some  fifty  yards  from  the  half- 
circle  of  wagons,  and  they  all  stood  talking  together 
there  for  perhaps  half  an  hour.  When  the  relief 
herders  had  ridden  away,  and  those  relieved  had  come 
in,  the  whole  party  returned  to  the  camp  and  prepared 
for  sleep. 

There  was  no  tent  up.  In  fact,  the  tent  had  not 
been  used  since  they  left  Fort  Gibson,  the  weather  be 
ing  too  dry  and  mild  to  require  it.  Some  of  the 
men  slept  under  the  wagons,  but  most  of  them  lay  on 
their  blankets  in  the  open  air. 

Jess  had  thrown  himself  down  and  was  already  half 
asleep,  when  he  was  recalled  to  consciousness  by  voices 
on  the  other  side  of  the  camp.  He  soon  became  aware 
that  Burgess  and  Johnson  were  talking,  though  he 
failed  to  understand  what  they  said.  Presently  he 
heard  Gregory's  voice  mingled  with  theirs.  It  was 
easy  to  tell  that  something  was  wrong.  A  little  later 
Gregory  came  across  the  camp  and  said: 

"  Are  you  asleep,  Jess?     Step  over  here,  please." 

Jess  slipped  on  his  pantaloons  and  boots  and  went. 

"  What's  the  matter  now?  "  he  inquired,  on  coming 
to  where  the  three  partners  were  standing. 

"  Matter  enough !  "  replied  Johnson,  angrily. 
"  We've  been  robbed!" 


216  SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

'What!"  exclaimed  the  young  cowboy,  incredu 
lously. 

"  That's  right,  Jess,"  said  Burgess.  "  We've  been 
robbed  of  nearly  every  cent  we  had  in  the  world.  My 
saddle-bags  have  been  stolen." 

"  Where  were  they?  And  when  did  you  first  miss 
them,  Mr.  Burgess?" 

4  They  were  under  my  head,  where  I  always  keep 
them  at  night.  When  I  thought  the  redskins  were 
making  an  attack,  I  grabbed  up  my  gun  and  ran  off 
and  left  the  saddle-bags  —  forgot  all  about  them. 
That's  something  I  don't  generally  do,  as  you  well 
know.  But  in  my  excitement  I  didn't  think  of  them 
again  till  I  came  back  here  and  lay  down.  Then  I  dis 
covered  that  they  were  gone." 

"Where  is  the  —  "  Jess  began;  but  he  stopped. 

"  I  don't  know  whether  he  was  out  there  or  not. 
None  of  us  can  recollect  seeing  him,"  said  Burgess, 
who  knew  very  well  whom  Jess  had  started  to  speak 
of.  Indeed,  all  their  suspicions  had  turned  instantly 
in  the  same  direction.  There  was  but  one  member  of 
their  party  that  any  of  them  suspected.  But,  know 
ing  that  there  was  a  possibility  of  doing  an  innocent 
man  an  injustice,  they  refrained  from  mentioning  his 
name,  even  among  themselves. 

"  Wait  a  minute,"  said  Jess.  He  walked  around 
the  curved  line  of  wagons,  counting  the  sleepers. 
When  he  had  come  back,  they  talked  in  low  tones. 

"  I  find  every  man  in  his  place,"  he  reported. 
"  The  one  that  we  all  have  in  mind  is  there,  and  seems 


BURGESS'S  SADDLE-BAGS  STOLEN     217 

to  be  sleeping  as  soundly  as  any  of  them.  Only  the 
four  herders  are  gone." 

"  The  worst  of  it  is,  Jess/'  said  Gregory,  "  we'd  all 
emptied  our  belts  into  those  saddle-bags.  Gold  is 
heavy  and  troublesome  to  carry  around  one,  especially 
in  warm  weather.  So  when  the  outfitting  expenses  had 
been  paid  at  Fort  Gibson,  we  all  put  our  money  into 
the  saddle-bags  for  Burgess  to  take  care  of.  There 
was  nearly  six  thousand  dollars  of  it.  And  now  this 
loss  leaves  us  almost  penniless  so  far  as  ready  money 
is  concerned.  It's  true  we've  got  our  outfit  —  " 

u  It  mustn't  be  a  loss,"  declared  Jess,  decidedly. 
"  Those  saddle-bags  are  somewhere  close  by,  and  we 
can  find  them  —  weVe  got  to  find  them,  and  find  the 
thief,  too." 

"  We  all  suspect  the  same  man,"  said  Johnson. 
"  And  while  I  don't  care  to  make  any  accusations  with 
out  some  evidence,  there's  no  question  in  my  mind  that 
the  fellow  is  guilty.  More  than  once  I've  noticed  him 
with  his  eyes  fixed  on  those  bags  of  gold,  like  a  hungry 
wolf  eying  a  fat  pig." 

Jess  laughed.  "  If  you're  going  to  suspect  every 
body  that  has  looked  at  those  saddle-bags  curiously, 
I'm  afraid  you'll  have  to  suspect  the  whole  outfit  of 
us,"  he  said.  "  I  know  Fve  looked  at  them  very 
often.  In  fact,  for  a  while,  until  I  got  used  to  them, 
my  eyes  would  just  naturally  turn  toward  them  when 
ever  they  were  in  sight." 

After  a  lengthy  consultation,  it  was  decided  to  call 
all  hands  out,  tell  them  of  the  robbery,  and  then  make 


218  SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

a  thorough  search  for  the  missing  saddle-bags.  And 
that  was  what  they  did.  Every  man  in  the  party  ex 
pressed  a  willingness  to  be  searched,  if  that  was 
thought  necessary,  and  to  aid  in  the  search  for  the 
stolen  gold. 

"  Somebody  got  them  saddle-bags,  and  somebody  in 
this  camp  got  'em,"  declared  Davis,  the  wagon- 
master.  "  Until  the  guilty  man  is  caught,  every 
mother's  son  of  us  is  under  suspicion.  There's  no  de- 
nyin'  that.  Let's  get  to  work  and  see  what  we  can  dis 
cover." 

A  careful  search  was  made,  but  nothing  was  found, 
and  nothing  new  was  learned.  Burgess  then  told 
everybody  to  lie  down  again.  The  partners  them 
selves  were  too  much  worried  over  their  loss  to  think 
of  sleeping.  They  stayed  up,  sitting  on  their  blankets, 
to  make  sure  that  nobody  should  leave  the  camp. 

When  daylight  came  a  thorough  search  was  made, 
in  the  wagons,  in  the  grass,  and  everywhere  else  that 
a  pair  of  saddle-bags  might  have  been  hidden,  for 
hundreds  of  yards  around.  All  the  forenoon  and  part 
of  the  afternoon  were  spent  in  the  search,  but  no  trace 
of  the  stolen  gold  could  be  discovered. 

"  It's  possible,"  said  Burgess,  "  that  somebody  has 
been  following  us,  waiting  for  a  chance  to  slip  into  the 
camp  and  steal  that  money.  And  at  last  he  found  his 
chance." 

That  was  what  he  said  to  all  the  hands.  But  to 
his  partners  and  to  Jess,  when  the  four  were  alone 
together,  he  remarked: 


BURGESS'S  SADDLE-BAGS  STOLEN     219 

"  It's  entirely  possible,  as  I  said  to  the  boys,  that 
somebody  has  been  following  us.  But  it  is  far  more 
probable  that  the  thief  is  right  here  among  us.  He 
had  been  waiting  and  watching  for  that  very  chance, 
and  when  it  came  he  was  quick  to  take  advantage  of 


it" 


"  But  what  did  he  do  with  the  saddle-bags,  Joe?" 
asked  Gregory. 

u  That's  what  I  don't  know,  Phil;  and  that  is  what 
we've  got  to  find  out.  He  cached  them  so  skillfully 
that  there's  no  sign  left.  It's  possible,  I  suppose,  to 
take  up  a  piece  of  turf,  dig  a  hole  and  bury  the  saddle 
bags  under  it,  and  then  put  it  back.  But  I  don't  see 
how  he  did  all  that  and  did  it  so  well  in  so  short  a 


time." 


"  And  that  without  leaving  a  clod  of  fresh  dirt  to 
show  where  he  dug,"  said  Jess.  "  I  don't  see  how 
he  could  have  done  that  in  the  moonlight.  He  cer 
tainly  couldn't  have  buried  the  money  anywhere  close 
by." 

"  The  thing  that  puzzles  me  most  is  why  the  fellow 
didn't  take  the  money  while  he  had  it,  and  travel  with 
it,"  said  Johnson. 

"  That  is  strange,  Jeddy,"  answered  Burgess. 
"  That's  another  thing  that  makes  it  seem  possible  that 
the  thief  was  somebody  that  has  been  following  us. 
One  of  our  own  party  would  have  got  away  while  he 
could." 

"  But  maybe  he  couldn't,"  Jess  answered.  "  All 
the  staked  horses  were  out  there  close  to  where  we 


s 


220  SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

were  talking,  and  he  didn't  care  to  start  off  on  foot, 
carrying  those  heavy  bags." 

"  You've  hit  it,  Jess.  That's  the  very  reason.  I 
hadn't  thought  of  that,"  said  Burgess.  "  Now  the 
only  question  is:  When  will  he  try  to  get  away?  Or 
will  he  go  on  with  us  to  California,  and  return  after 
wards  for  his  stolen  treasure?  That  would  be  the 
sensible  thing  for  him  to  do." 

"  Yes,  but  that's  just  what  he  won't  do,  Joe,"  said 
Johnson. 

;'  Thieves  never  do  the  sensible  thing,"  Gregory  ob 
served.  "  If  they  did,  they  wouldn't  be  thieves." 

"  This  fellow  will  be  so  eager  to  get  to  spending  that 
money  that  he  can't  rest  till  he  slips  away,  I  think," 
was  Jess's  opinion. 

"  That's  exactly  what  I  think  about  it,"  said  Bur 
gess.  "  We  can  safely  count  on  that.  That's  how 
he'll  betray  himself  —  by  trying  to  run  away." 

"  I  think  I  could  make  him  betray  himself  quicker 
than  that." 

"  How,  Jeddy?  "  inquired  Gregory. 

4  Why,  with  a  rope  and  a  propped-up  wagon-tongue. 
About  the  time  we  began  to  stretch  his  neck,  he'd  be 
only  too  glad  to  tell  where  those  saddle-bags  are  con 
cealed." 

u  Jeddy,  we  couldn't  do  that,"  answered  Burgess. 
"  In  the  first  place,  there  isn't  one  particle  of  evidence 
against  that  man  —  the  man  you're  thinking  of.  He 
may  be  as  innocent  of  that  crime  as  a  baby.  And  even 
if  he's  guilty,  and  we  couldn't  make  him  confess,  we 


BURGESS'S  SADDLE-BAGS  STOLEN     221 

might  never  learn  where  the  money  is.  Our  best  plan 
is  to  wait  and  watch  till  he  betrays  himself.  We'll 
let  him  find  the  money  for  us." 

"  That's  the  safest  course,"  said  Gregory.  "  And 
we  don't  want  to  take  it  for  granted  that  we  know 
who  the  thief  is.  We  might  watch  some  innocent 
man,  and  let  the  guilty  one  get  away.  Gold  is  very 
tempting,  and,  as  Davis  says,  every  man  that  was  near 
the  camp  when  that  money  disappeared  is  under  sus 
picion.  Jess  and  Soos  and  Hawk  Tail  and  Dick 
McCarty  were  out  with  the  cattle  at  the  time,  and 
they  can't  be  guilty.  Jess  wouldn't  have  been  under 
suspicion  anyway.  But  nearly  everybody  else  would. 
Of  course  we  want  to  keep  an  especially  close  watch  on 
the  man  we  all  suspect.  If  he  tries  to  get  away  to 
night,  he'll  go  before  the  moon  rises.  You  can  de 
pend  on  that." 

"  Maybe  it  would  be  better  not  to  watch  anybody," 
suggested  Jess.  "  Maybe  we  ought  to  make  it  easy 
for  the  thief  to  get  away." 

"What  do  you  mean,  Jess?"  demanded  Johnson, 
almost  sternly. 

But  when  Jess  had  explained  his  plan,  all  endorsed 
it,  and  they  proceeded  to  carry  it  out.  In  pursuance 
of  this  plan,  the  caravan  started  about  the  middle  of 
the  afternoon,  and  traveled  six  or  seven  miles,  till 
sunset,  before  stopping  for  the  night. 

Soon  after  supper  Burgess  remarked: 

"  Boys,  we  don't  want  any  more  trouble  with  the 
buffaloes  to-night.  I  think  some  of  us  had  better  take 


222  SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

a  little  ride  around  the  country  and  see  if  there  are 
any  close  by." 

"  I'll  go,"  announced  Johnson.  "  Who  volunteers 
to  go  with  me?  " 

Gregory  and  Jess  expressed  their  willingness  to  take 
a  ride,  and  so  did  several  others,  Soos  and  Hawk  Tail 
among  them.  Those  four  were  accepted. 

"  That'll  be  enough,"  Johnson  said.  "  Don't  for 
get  your  guns,  boys.  We're  as  apt  to  find  redskins  as 
buffaloes." 

The  five  mounted  and  rode  away  toward  the  north 
west.  After  assuring  themselves  that  there  were  no 
buffaloes  in  the  vicinity,  the  party  turned,  and  making 
a  wide  circuit  of  their  present  camp,  rode  hard  for  the 
place  where  they  had  camped  the  night  before. 

On  arriving  there,  all  dismounted.  Soos  led  the 
five  horses  to  a  ravine  a  quarter  of  a  mile  beyond, 
where  they  could  be  concealed.  The  other  four  men 
lay  down  in  some  high  grass  on  the  river-bank,  where 
they  could  overlook  both  their  former  camp  and  all 
the  surrounding  valley. 

An  hour  passed,  and  the  moon,  rising  from  behind 
some  hills  to  the  east,  was  flooding  the  valley  and  the 
river  with  its  soft,  silvery  light.  The  voices  of  frogs 
in  the  stream,  the  shrill  cries  of  insects,  and  the  yap- 
yaping  of  coyotes  were  the  only  sounds  that  broke  the 
stillness. 

"Well,  he's  not  coming  to-night;  that's  plain,"  said 
Johnson,  sitting  up.  "  We've  had  all  our  trouble  for 
nothing.  The  fellow  won't  try  to  steal  a  horse  and 


BURGESS'S  SADDLE-BAGS  STOLEN     223 

leave  the  camp  after  moonrise.  So  there's  nothing 
for  us  to  do  but  go  back  and  wait  till  —  " 

Jess  raised  his  hand  warningly.  "  I  thought  I 
heard  something,"  he  said. 

All  listened,  and  soon  their  strained  ears  could  de 
tect  sounds  coming  from  far  up  the  valley  —  the  hoof- 
beats  of  a  galloping  horse ! 


CHAPTER  XXII 

THE  WAY  OF  THE  TRANSGRESSOR 

SOON  the  horseman  came  into  view.  Even  while 
he  was  a  good  distance  off,  they  easily  recognized  his 
figure. 

"  Just  exactly  as  I  expected !  "  muttered  Johnson, 
wrathfully.  "  I  knew  if  there  was  any  devilment  on 
foot,  that  Deserter  would  be  at  the  bottom  of  it.  If 
I'd  had  my  way,  we'd  have  strung  him  up  until  he  told 
where  that  money  is,  without  going  to  all  this  trouble." 

Not  for  an  instant  did  the  horseman  hesitate.  Rid 
ing  up  to  the  river-bank,  he  dismounted.  After  listen 
ing  a  few  moments,  evidently  for  pursuers,  he  untied 
his  lariat,  and  running  down  the  bank,  secured  the  end 
of  it  to  the  cottonwood.  Then  he  laid  aside  his  hat 
and  six-shooter,  jerked  off  his  boots,  and  began  to  strip 
off  his  clothes. 

"What  under  the  sun  is  the  fellow  up  to?  Is  he 
going  to  take  a  swim?"  whispered  Gregory. 

"  Not  for  fun,"  Jess  whispered  back.  "  He's  got 
something  on  hand  besides  amusement.  Look  how 
anxious  he  is !  " 

Having  removed  all  his  clothes,  the  Deserter  had 
stopped  to  listen  again.  Hearing  nothing  to  excite  his 
fears,  he  turned  and,  after  carefully  noting  his  position 
by  the  tree,  began  to  wade  into  the  stream.  Half  a 

224 


THE  WAY  OF  THE  TRANSGRESSOR     225 

dozen   steps   brought  him  to   swimming  water.     He 
swam  only  a  few  strokes,  then  suddenly  disappeared. 

A  full  minute  passed,  and  still  he  had  not  come  to 
the  surface. 

"What's  the  fellow  doing — -drowning  himself?" 
whispered  Gregory. 

"  No  drowning  there,"  answered  Jess,  who  sus 
pected  why  the  Deserter  had  dived.  "  There  he 
comes  &ow !  " 

Thrusting  up  his  head,  the  man  remained  motion 
less,  treading  water  noiselessly,  till  he  could  breathe 
and  listen  for  pursuers.  Then  he  dived  again. 

Half  a  dozen  times  he  went  down  and  came  up, 
seemingly  for  no  purpose  at  all.  But  evidently  there 
was  some  object  down  there  that  he  wanted  and  was 
determined  to  find. 

At  last  he  came  up  with  something  in  his  hand.  It 
proved  to  be  the  end  of  a  rope.  Again  and  again  he 
was  seen  to  pull  on  it;  but  being  in  the  water,  he  pulled 
himself  under  without  raising  the  object  to  which  the 
rope  was  attached. 

By  this  time  all  the  watchers  understood  the  situa 
tion.  The  gold-heavy  saddle-bags,  they  had  no  doubt, 
had  been  dropped  into  the  water  there,  with  a  short 
rope  tied  to  them  as  an  aid  in  finding  them.  The  man 
had  got  hold  of  the  rope,  but  for  some  reason  was  not 
able  to  raise  the  saddle-bags  with  it. 

4  They've  sunk  into  the  sand,  and  he  can't  pull  them 
out,"  whispered  Jess. 

After  trying  again  and  again,  the  man  in  the  river 


226  SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

ceased  his  exertions.  The  rope  was  not  long  enough 
for  him  to  swim  to  the  bank  with  it,  and  he  could  do 
nothing  while  in  the  water.  He  glanced  toward  the 
lariat  that  the  horse  was  tied  with. 

Johnson  and  those  with  him  had  been  holding  a 
whispered  consultation. 

"That  gold's  down  there  —  no  doubt  about  that," 
said  Gregory.  "  Even  if  he  can't  get  it  up,  we  can. 
We'd  better  capture  the  fellow  now,  while  he's  un 
armed  and  at  our  mercy." 

"  That's  right,"  agreed  Johnson.  "  And  even  if 
the  money  should  not  be  there,  we  can  soon  make  him 
tell  where  it  is.  This  is  as  good  a  time  as  any.  Come 
on !  "  They  all  sprang  up  and  rushed  over  to  the 
river-bank. 

"  Now  we've  got  you,  General!  "  cried  Johnson. 

For  a  few  moments  the  man  in  the  water  seemed 
petrified  with  astonishment.  But  if  the  party  on  the 
bank  were  expecting  to  capture  him  easily,  they  were 
much  mistaken.  The  Deserter  was  a  good  swimmer 
and  diver,  and  he  suddenly  disappeared.  Johnson 
jerked  out  his  six-shooter  and  stood  waiting  for  the 
fellow  to  come  up. 

Gregory  laid  his  hand  on  Johnson's  arm.  "  Don't 
shoot,  Jeddy,  till  you  give  him  a  chance  to  surrender." 

The  Deserter  remained  under  water  a  long  time,  as 
it  seemed  to  those  waiting.  When  at  length  his  head 
did  bob  up,  he  was  fifty  yards  out  in  the  river  and  still 
moving  fast. 

"  Stop,  or  I  fire  1  "  yelled  Johnson.     And  he  did  fire, 


THE  WAY  OF  THE  TRANSGRESSOR     227 

almost  at  the  same  moment.  But  the  fugitive  had 
dived  again  before  the  bullet  struck  the  water. 

Seeing  that  the  Deserter  was  likely  to  escape,  Hawk 
Tail  laid  aside  his  gun  and  six-shooter,  and  jerking  off 
his  boots  and  clothes,  was  quickly  in  the  river,  swim- 
miing  after  him.  The  next  time  the  fugitive's  head  ap 
peared,  Johnson  sent  a  bullet  at  it  with  his  rifle.  Then 
he  quickly  dropped  the  empty  gun,  and  untying  the 
horse,  sprang  upon  him  and  spurred  down  the  bank 
into  the  water.  He  was  bent  upon  capturing  the  man. 

"  Oh,  Jeddy,  come  back  and  let  him  go !  "  Gregory 
called  out. 

But  Johnson  urged  his  swimming  horse  on.  And 
every  time  the  fugitive  came  to  the  surface,  he  called 
to  him  to  stop,  and  sent  a  bullet  after  him  by  way  of 
emphasizing  the  command.  Hawk  Tail  was  also  mov 
ing  through  the  water  fast,  but  both  pursuers  were  far 
behind  the  fugitive,  who  was  diving  and  swimming  for 
life. 

The  river,  or  at  least  the  water,  was  only  a  few 
hundred  yards  wide,  and  before  long  the  two  men  on 
the  bank  saw  the  naked  Deserter  emerge  from  the 
stream  at  its  far  edge  and  go  running  like  a  streak 
across  the  sand.  Soon  he  leaped  upon  the  farther  bank 
and  disappeared  in  the  hazy  distance,  before  his  pur 
suers  were  out  of  the  water. 

Both  followed  him  as  soon  as  they  could;  but  after 
being  gone  fifteen  or  twenty  minutes,  they  were  seen 
coming  back  together.  Again  they  swam  the  river. 

"  Well,  he  got  away  from  us,"  Johnson  remarked, 


228  SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

after   dismounting   from   the   streaming   horse   at  the 
water's  edge,  near  the  cottonwood. 

"  Let  him  go  —  let  him  go,"  said  Jess,  who,  like 
Gregory,  had  been  an  interested  but  inactive  spectator 
of  the  whole  performance.  "  What  could  we  do  with 
him,  even  if  you  had  captured  him?  " 

Johnson  did  not  answer,  but  Hawk  Tail,  who  was 
out  of  the  water  by  this  time,  was  quick  to  say: 

"  Us  hang  General,  'way  high  up.  But  no  ketchee. 
Him  swim  heap  fast;  dive  like  duck." 

"  Well,  the  punishment  he  has  brought  upon  himself 
is  likely  to  be  severer  than  I  would  be  willing  to  inflict 
upon  him,"  Gregory  remarked.  "  Think  of  his  situa 
tion  !  He's  without  clothes,  hat,  boots  or  weapons,  in 
a  country  swarming  with  hostile  Indians,  and  a  long 
distance  from  the  nearest  settlement.  He's  pretty 
shifty,  but  it's  a  hard  row  he'll  have  to  hoe." 

Soos,  having  heard  the  shots,  and  knowing  that  there 
was  no  further  need  of  concealment,  now  came  leading 
the  horses.  He  was  greatly  surprised  when  told  that 
the  Deserter  had  actually  escaped  from  all  of  them. 

"  Now  let's  see  if  those  saddle-bags  are  down  there," 
said  Jess.  "  If  they  are,  we're  all  right." 

"  And  if  they're  not,  we're  about  six  thousand  dollars 
out,"  remarked  Johnson. 

Hawk  Tail  swam  out  and  dived,  again  and  again, 
and  finally  got  hold  of  the  rope.  But  he,  too,  was  un 
able  to  pull  up  whatever  the  rope  was  fastened  to. 
Jess  threw  him  the  end  of  a  lariat,  and  when  the  two 
ropes  had  been  tied  together,  Jess  got  ready  to  pull. 


THE  WAY  OF  THE  TRANSGRESSOR     229 

"  Now  let's  see  what  kind  of  a  fish  we've  caught," 
he  said,  bracing  his  feet.  Johnson  and  Gregory  stood 
by,  watching  anxiously. 

After  a  long,  steady  pull,  the  sand  gave  way,  and 
Jess  drew  out  the  object  that  had  been  buried  in  it. 

There  was  no  disappointment.  A  pair  of  soaked 
saddle-bags  emerged  from  the  water  at  the  end  of  the 
rope. 

Gregory  and  Johnson  opened  the  saddle-bags  on  the 
spot,  and  took  out  the  money.  It  was  in  twenty-dollar 
gold-pieces,  wrapped  in  buckskin.  By  counting  the 
rolls,  they  soon  learned  that  all  the  stolen  money  had 
been  recovered.  Doubtless  the  thief  had  not  taken 
time  to  open  the  saddle-bags,  and  probably  he  had 
never  so  much  as  caught  a  glimpse  of  the  gold  itself. 

"  Well,  that  was  a  sly  trick,"  laughed  Gregory.  "  If 
he'd  hid  the  saddle-bags  anywhere  else,  we  should 
probably  have  found  them.  But  the  water  left  no 
trace." 

"  The  General  must  have  thought  out  that  plan  in 
advance,"  Jess  remarked. 

"  And  the  buffalo  excitement  was  his  chance  to  carry 
it  out,"  said  Johnson.  "  I  wonder  what  will  become 
of  the  fellow." 

"  No  telling,"  Gregory  answered.  "  If  the  Indians 
let  him  alone,  he'll  probably  reach  the  settlements 
sooner  or  later." 

"  Well,  if  he  does,  he'll  have  to  go  it  naked,"  de 
clared  Johnson,  as  he  caught  up  the  Deserter's  clothes 
and  tossed  them  far  out  into  the  river. 


230  SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

"  I'd  leave  his  boots,  Jeddy,  I  believe,"  said  Greg 
ory.  But  even  as  he  spoke  the  boots  followed  the 
clothes  into  the  river. 

"  We've  had  trouble  enough  with  that  scoundrel," 
growled  Johnson.  "  The  only  thing  I'd  like  to  leave 
him  is  a  rope." 

And  Jess  remarked:  "He'll  have  a  hard  time  of 
it.  But  the  way  of  transgressors  has  always  been 
hard." 

1  Yes,  and  it  ought  to  be  hard.  And  I  don't  pro 
pose  to  do  anything  to  make  it  easy,"  declared  John 
son.  "  But  we'd  better  be  riding." 

They  appropriated  the  Deserter's  six-shooter  and 
blankets,  the  only  property  he  had  possessed.  The 
gun,  as  well  as  both  the  horse  and  the  saddle,  belonged 
to  the  partners. 

"  Well,  I'm  rather  glad  the  fellow  got  away,"  Bur 
gess  remarked,  when  the  party  had  returned  to  camp 
and  related  their  recent  experiences.  "  I  don't  know 
what  we  could  have  done  with  a  prisoner.  What  will 
become  of  him?  " 

The  question  is  still  unanswered.  Whether  the  De 
serter  eventually  reached  the  settlements  or  perished  in 
the  wilderness,  is  unknown. 

Next  morning  one  of  the  cowboys  was  put  to  driving 
the  driverless  wagon,  and  the  caravan  moved  on  as 
before.  The  partners  were  all  well  pleased  at  the  re 
covery  of  their  money,  but  Gregory  was  impatient  at 
the  time  lost.  It  would  throw  them  farther  behind  the 
Mormon  wagon-train. 


THE  WAY  OF  THE  TRANSGRESSOR     231 

Two  nights  later  the  steers  stampeded.  The  drove 
broke  into  three  or  four  pieces,  but  none  of  the  divi 
sions  ran  very  far.  The  herders  rode  with  them,  and 
got  them  all  together  again  next  morning.  A  count 
proved  that  none  had  been  lost. 

The  curious  thing  about  the  matter  was  the  dis 
covery,  next  morning,  of  a  dead  Indian  lying  near 
where  the  stampede  had  begun.  He  had  doubtless 
been  crawling  up  to  stampede  the  cattle  or  shoot  one  of 
the  herders,  when  the  steers  took  fright,  starting  so  sud 
denly  that  he  had  no  time  to  escape.  He  was  badly 
trampled,  and  they  left  him  lying  where  they  found 
him.  He  was  probably  a  Pawnee. 

One  night,  after  supper,  Gregory  asked  Jess  to  take 
a  walk  to  the  top  of  a  neighboring  mound. 

"  I  thought  I  noticed  a  dust-cloud  ahead  to-day,"  he 
explained,  after  they  had  started.  "  And  if  I  did,  we 
may  be  able  to  catch  a  glimpse  of  the  Mormon  camp- 
fires." 

"  I'm  sure  I  saw  a  dust-cloud  up  the  trail,  more  than 
once,"  Jess  answered.  "  But  of  course  I  couldn't  tell 
whether  it  was  the  Mormons  stirring  it  up,  or  buffa 
loes,  or  only  a  whirlwind.  Anyhow,  we  can't  be  far 
behind  the  Mormons  now.  Their  camp-signs  are  too 
fresh." 

Gregory  took  a  run,  and  was  the  first  to  reach  the 
top  of  the  mound.  He  promptly  uttered  a  shout.  On 
joining  him,  Jess  looked  in  the  direction  his  friend  indi 
cated,  and  could  make  out  several  twinkling  points  of 
light,  which  he  knew  to  be  camp-fires. 


232  SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

"We're  in  sight  of  them  at  last!  "  cried  Gregory, 
gazing  intently.  "  And,  Jess,  until  you  get  infatuated 
with  some  girl,  and  have  her  traveling  in  a  wagon-train 
ahead  of  you,  you'll  never  know  how  glad  I  am  to 
catch  a  glimpse  of  those  fires." 

"  We  ought  to  overtake  that  outfit  in  a  few  days 
now,"  Jess  remarked,  by  way  of  encouragement. 

'  The  thing  that  worries  me,  Jess,  is  what  may  have 
happened  since  I  saw  Miss  Adams.  She  must  choose 
between  her  religion  and  me,  you  understand.  The 
Mormons  won't  have  it  any  other  way.  ^hen  I  took 
leave  of  her,  there  close  to  Fort  Gibson,  she  was  halt 
ing  between  two  opinions.  Her  faith  had  never  been 
very  strong,  I  think;  and  being  a  religious  man  myself, 
I  had  half  convinced  her  that  all  the  Mormon  prophets, 
so  called,  were  cheap,  vulgar  humbugs.  However,  she 
hadn't  altogether  given  up  her  religion,  and  it's  pos 
sible  that  by  this  time  her  uncle  and  aunt  and  others 
have  convinced  her  that  I'm  a  humbug.  In  fact,  it's 
entirely  possible  that  I  may  find  her  married  to  some 
of  those  fellows.  They're  great  at  marrying,  those 
Mormons." 


CHAPTER  XXIII 

CLIMBING  THE  ARKANSAS  RIVER 

THE  lights  were  further  away  than  Jess  and  Greg 
ory  supposed,  and  it  was  not  till  two  or  three  days  after 
the  Mormon  camp  had  been  sighted  that  they  found 
themselves  near  enough  to  the  Mormons  to  visit  them. 
They  rode  over  one  night  after  supper,  and  were  hos 
pitably  received  by  Adams  and  his  family.  Gregory 
found  an  opportunity  to  talk  to  the  niece,  leaving 
Adams  and  his  wife  to  Jess. 

On  the  ride  back,  Gregory  told  Jess  that  Miss  Ad 
ams  was  no  stronger  in  the  Mormon  faith  than  when 
she  had  started  from  Fort  Gibson.  On  the  con 
trary,  she  was  weaker,  if  anything;  and  Adams  himself 
was  somewhat  dissatisfied  with  the  way  matters  were 
being  managed  in  the  Mormon  camp.  With  the  usual 
independence  of  a  frontiersman,  he  was  little  disposed 
to  have  all  his  affairs  directed  by  some  one  else.  As 
yet  he  was  only  grumbling;  but  Gregory  was  hopeful 
that  his  dissatisfaction  might  ripen  to  open  rebellion 
sooner  or  later. 

"  And  I  suppose  you're  much  relieved  to  find  Miss 
Sally  still  unmarried?  "  Jess  remarked. 

"  Yes.  But  it  seems  now  that  there  never  was  much 
danger  of  that  —  none  at  all,  I  guess.  You  know, 
Jess,  the  devil  always  overreaches  himself.  And  that's 
exactly  what  he  did  in  this  case.  The  Mormon  elder 


234  SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

that  wanted  to  marry  her  has  a  rival  now  —  another 
Mormon  elder.  Both  are  infatuated  with  her,  and 
both  want  to  marry  her.  And  the  result  is  they're 
snarling  at  each  other  like  two  curs.  It's  laughable  — 
to  me.  But  the  most  ridiculous  part  of  it  all  is,  each 
of  them  has  had  a  revelation  directly  from  heaven  to 
the  effect  that  Miss  Adams  must  marry  him.  I've  told 
her  again  and  again  that  all  those  so-called  revelations 
were  either  lies  or  silly  delusions;  but  it  seemed  in 
credible  to  her  that  the  Mormon  leaders  could  be  such 
scoundrels.  And  now  those  contradictory  revelations 
have  opened  her  eyes.  She  knows  that  some  of  their 
so-called  religious  men  are  liars  and  hypocrites,  and 
she's  half  ready  to  believe  that  the  others  may  be. 
Did  Adams  say  anything  to  you  —  anything  to  indicate 
that  his  faith  is  weakening?  " 

"  Not  a  word,  Phil,"  Jess  replied. 

"  Perhaps  he  hasn't  got  far  enough  along  for  that 
yet,  and  perhaps  he  wouldn't  dare  say  so  if  he  had, 
being  still  in  the  Mormon  camp.  But  besides  being 
dissatisfied  with  Mormon  ways,  he  has  seen  things  that 
have  at  least  partly  opened  his  eyes  —  so  Miss  Adams 
says.  The  fact  is,  Jess,  Adams  is  much  superior  to  the 
common  run  of  '  Latter  Day  Saints  '  in  point  of  intelli 
gence;  and  in  education,  at  least,  Sally  is  much  superior 
to  her  uncle.  The  wonder  to  me  is  that  she  ever  got 
caught  in  the  delusion.  She  wouldn't  have  been  caught 
if  the  essential,  distinctive  teachings  of  Mormonism 
had  been  preached  to  her  at  first.  But  with  Satanic 
cunning,  all  the  disgusting  things  in  it  were  held  back 


CLIMBING  THE  ARKANSAS  RIVER     235 

till  later.  It  didn't  take  much  to  open  her  eyes, 
though;  and  it  may  not  take  a  great  deal  more  to  open 
her  uncle's  and  aunt's  eyes.  No  telling  what  will  hap 
pen  before  this  long  journey  is  over.  I'm  hoping  to 
persuade  the  whole  family  to  go  on  with  us  to  Cali 
fornia." 

The  Mormons  were  still  several  miles  ahead  of  the 
Bar-Circlers.  And  they  would  have  been  much  fur 
ther  ahead  but  for  the  fact  that  they  had  stopped  a  day 
to  hunt  buffaloes,  and  a  day  longer  to  dry  their  meat. 
Soon  after  Jess  and  Gregory  had  visited  the  Mormon 
camp,  the  Bar-Circle  party  passed  through  an  unusual 
experience. 

They  had  been  seeing  buffaloes  for  two  or  three 
weeks  now,  and  had  killed  several  of  them,  for  their 
meat.  Besides  these,  nearly  every  member  of  the 
party  had  shot  one  or  more,  out  of  a  natural  desire  to 
kill.  Jess  himself,  carried  away  with  the  first  excite 
ment,  had  pursued  and  brought  down  a  huge  bull,  just 
to  be  able  to  boast  that  he  had  slain  a  buffalo.  For 
a  short  time  he  was  much  elated  over  his  success.  But 
after  gazing  at  his  motionless  victim  for  a  few  minutes, 
his  accomplishment  seemed  rather  small.  On  return 
ing  to  camp,  he  said  to  Gregory: 

"  Do  you  know,  Phil,  I  half  wished  I  hadn't  killed 
him.  In  fact,  if  I  could  have  brought  the  big  fellow  to 
life,  I'd  have  been  glad  to  do  it,  and  let  him  go  in 
peace.  There  seemed  so  little  excuse  for  his  lying 
there  dead.  Hunting  buffaloes  is  thrillingly  exciting, 
but  I'll  not  kill  any  more,  I  guess,  till  I'm  sure  they're 


236  SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

needed  for  meat.  It  makes  a  fellow  feel  too  mean 
afterwards." 

"  You're  sensible,  Jess,"  answered  Gregory. 
"  Shooting  animals  just  to  see  them  stagger  about  and 
fall  down  dead  lacks  only  one  thing  of  being  savagery. 
And  that  is  that  it's  worse  than  savagery.  Savages 
don't  do  it.  The  crudest  redskins  in  North  America 
don't  have  any  such  amusement.  I've  been  across  the 
plains  twice  —  this  is  the  third  time;  and  the  wanton 
destruction  I've  seen  of  those  harmless  animals  has  half 
disgusted  me  with  my  kind.  Like  you,  I  caught  the 
excitement  and  the  craze  to  kill  at  first  But  the  few 
I've  shot  since  then  were  certainly  needed  for  meat." 

One  morning  about  ten  o'clock  the  fore  end  of  the 
drove  passed  round  a  bend  in  the  Arkansas,  and  Jess, 
gazing  far  ahead,  saw  the  uplands  on  both  sides  of  the 
river  black  with  moving  objects.  Instinctively  he  ut 
tered  a  shout. 

"  Buffaloes !  Buffaloes !  "  he  cried,  pointing  to  call 
Sam's  attention  to  them. 

The  half-breed  was  much  excited  at  the  spectacle, 
and  he,  too,  uttered  a  whoop;  and  so  did  Hawk  Tail 
and  Soos,  the  moment  they  came  in  sight  of  the  vast 
herd.  The  cry  of  "  Buffaloes !  "  passed  back  along  the 
line,  until  everybody  knew  that  great  numbers  of  the 
big  game  had  been  sighted. 

It  was  not  till  an  hour  later  that  the  caravan  ap 
proached  the  buffaloes.  By  this  time  a  dull  rumbling 
filled  the  air  —  the  trampling  of  myriads  of  hoofed 
feet.  The  animals  were  on  both  sides  of  the  trail,  and 


CLIMBING  THE  ARKANSAS  RIVER     237 

the  country  was  black  with  them,  further  than  the  eye 
could  reach.  Jess  and  Hawk  Tail  galloped  ahead  to 
open  a  way. 

As  the  two  horsemen  bore  down  upon  them,  the 
buffaloes  parted  and  took  to  flight.  By  yelling,  waving 
their  hats  and  firing  their  six-shooters,  Jess  and  the 
Choctaw  easily  cleared  the  trail.  The  frightened 
brutes  fled  wildly  for  a  few  hundred  yards,  stirring 
up  a  fog  of  dust  as  their  hoofs  pounded  the  parched 
prairie  with  a  roar  of  thunder. 

The  vast  herd  covered  the  country  for  miles,  and 
the  caravan  was  hours  passing  through  it.  And  all 
that  time  Jess  and  Hawk  Tail  had  to  ride  in  advance 
of  the  cattle  to  keep  the  way  clear.  As  the  buffaloes 
parted  and  rolled  back,  carcasses  were  seen  scattered 
over  the  valley  on  both  sides  of  the  trail;  and  flocks 
of  buzzards  and  numerous  wolves  —  white  wolves, 
gray  wolves  and  coyotes  —  were  feasting  on  them 
greedily.  Doubtless  the  dead  buffaloes  had  been  shot 
down  and  left  here  by  the  Mormons  in  the  wagon- 
train  ahead. 

As  the  buffaloes  parted  before  the  advance  riders, 
Jess  had  a  good  opportunity  to  observe  them  closely. 
Some  of  the  bulls,  of  which  there  were  many,  were  en 
gaged  in  fighting.  And  so  intent  were  they  on  their 
savage  business  that  not  till  the  two  cowboys  were  close 
upon  them  did  they  break  apart  and  take  to  flight. 
Others  could  be  seen  wallowing  in  the  dust. 

The  steers  themselves  gazed  at  the  buffaloes  in  some 
alarm  as  they  marched  through  them.  But  there  was 


238  SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

a  wide  lane  open,  and  no  trouble  occurred.  Stopping 
the  drove  here  was  out  of  the  question.  And  it  was 
not  till  the  buffaloes  had  been  left  behind,  and  long 
past  the  usual  nooning  time,  that  the  caravan  halted 
for  dinner. 

The  Mormon  wagon-train  was  now  in  sight.  It 
was  only  a  few  miles  ahead,  and  when  night  came  on 
Gregory  rode  over  to  the  other  camp  to  call  on  Miss 
Sally  Adams.  He  had  covered  less  than  half  the  dis 
tance  on  his  way  back,  when  a  chorus  of  wild  yells 
suddenly  burst  out  on  the  stillness! 

The  yells  came  from  behind  him,  and  from  one 
side  of  the  trail.  At  the  same  time  guns  began  to 
crack  and  bullets  to  whistle  over  his  head.  He  him 
self  was  armed,  having  a  six-shooter  at  his  belt  and  a 
rifle  slung  to  his  saddle-horn.  At  the  first  alarm  he 
put  spurs  to  his  horse  and  rode  hard  for  the  Bar-Circle 
camp.  He  also  loosened  his  weapons  and  prepared 
for  a  desperate  defense.  For  he  had  no  doubt  that  he 
was  being  pursued  by  Indians  —  Comanches  or  Paw 
nees. 

Now  and  then  in  his  flight  he  fired  a  shot  from  his 
six-shooter  toward  the  yelling  and  screeching  behind 
him.  From  the  number  of  yells,  he  knew  there  must 
be  a  dozen,  if  not  two  dozen,  of  his  pursuers.  Fortu 
nately  he  was  mounted  on  a  fast  horse,  and  after  a  race 
of  a  mile  or  two  the  pursuing  party  was  left  far  be 
hind. 

The  shots  and  yells  had  been  heard  at  the  Bar- 
Circle  camp,  and  no  little  excitement  followed  when 


CLIMBING  THE  ARKANSAS  RIVER     239 

Gregory  dashed  up  to  the  wagons  and  told  how  he  had 
been  chased  by  Indians.  Some  of  the  cowboys  were 
eager  to  saddle  up  at  once  and  go  in  search  of  the 
redskins.  But  Burgess  decided  that  this  would  be  use 
less  in  the  dark,  and  perhaps  dangerous,  and  nothing 
was  done. 

Gregory  and  his  party  went  to  sleep  that  night  in 
the  belief  that  he  had  been  chased  and  shot  at  by  In 
dians  ;  but  by  morning  he  had  begun  to  doubt.  He  did 
not  mention  his  suspicions  to  his  partners,  nor  to  any  of 
the  hands  except  Jess.  And  for  this  he  waited  till  they 
were  alone  together. 

"  I've  never  had  much  to  do  with  Indians,"  he  said, 
"  but  I've  seen  plenty  of  them  and  heard  them  yell 
often  enough.  Those  yells  last  night  sounded  much 
like  Indian  yells;  but  this  morning  I  can't  rid  myself 
of  the  impression  that  they  were  imitations  and  nothing 


more." 


"What  do  you  mean,  Phil?"  inquired  Jess,  though 
he  had  already  surmised  what  Gregory  had  in  mind. 

"  I  mean  I  now  believe  that  those  Indians,  as  I 
thought  them  to  be  last  night,  were  really  Mormons. 
And  the  more  I  think  about  it  the  stronger  my  belief 
grows." 

"  It's  entirely  possible.  Did  they  shoot  any  arrows 
at  you?  " 

"  No  telling.  Arrows  don't  make  any  noise.  And 
it  was  too  dark  to  see." 

"  Well,  it  may  be  that  the  Mormons  were  after  you 
—  that  they  wanted  to  give  you  a  good  scare." 


24o  SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

"  If  that  was  what  they  wanted,  I  must  confess  they 
succeeded.  I'm  not  quite  convinced,  though,  that  that 
was  all  they  wanted.  They  may  have  been  trying  to 
kill  me." 

"  I  hardly  think  they  would  have  dared  do  that. 
They  knew  your  friends  were  close  by." 

"Yes;  but  they're  a  hundred  and  twenty  strong,  to 
our  twenty-five.  Even  if  they'd  killed  me,  what  could 
you  boys  have  done  to  them?" 

"  We'd  have  given  them  a  lot  of  trouble,  just  the 
same.  And  they  knew  that  as  well  as  I  do.  You  must 
remember  that  we're  on  the  Santa  Fe  Trail  just  now. 
If  any  quarrel  started  up  with  the  Mormons,  we  could 
soon  get  assistance." 

"  Yes,  I've  no  doubt  we  could.  There's  plenty  of 
anti-Mormon  feeling  abroad.  But  we  don't  want  to 
quarrel  with  them  if  we  can  avoid  it.  We  may  need 
their  help." 

"  If  you  want  to  keep  on  friendly  terms  with  them, 
you'd  better  stay  away  from  that  pretty  Mormoness," 
laughed  Jess. 

"  Which  is  more  than  I  can  do.  I've  got  to  see  this 
matter  through,  whatever  comes  of  it.  Jess,  when 
you  get  so  sadly,  madly  in  love  with  some  girl  that  you 
can't  think  of  anything  else,  waking  or  sleeping,  you'll 
understand  what  I  mean  when  I  tell  you  that  I've  got 
to  keep  on,  no  matter  at  what  risk  to  myself.  The 
Mormons  may  mean  mischief,  or  they  may  be  only  try 
ing  to  frighten  me  off.  But  in  any  case  the  danger 
of  losing  that  girl  is  the  greatest  danger  that  can 


CLIMBING  THE  ARKANSAS  RIVER     241 

threaten  me.     So  I  must  risk  everything  else  rather 
than  that.     That's   how  the  matter  stands  with   me 


now." 


"  Phil,  you  have  got  it  bad !  I  didn't  know  you 
were  so  far  gone,"  laughed  Jess,  though  not  unsym- 
pathetically.  "  Well,  she's  a  fine  girl,  and  I  don't 
blame  you.  But  why  don't  you  get  her  away  from  the 
Mormons?  " 

"  Because  —  well,  there  are  several  reasons.  In  the 
first  place,  there  are  only  two  ways  that  could  be  done. 
One  is  by  persuading  her  uncle  to  desert  the  Mormon 
wagon-train  and  travel  with  us;  and  the  other,  by  car 
rying  the  girl  off  and  marrying  her.  We  couldn't  get 
married  out  here,  of  course,  even  if  the  lady  were  will 
ing.  There's  nobody  in  this  unpeopled  wilderness  to 
imarry  us." 

"How  about  your  rivals,  the  Mormon  elders?" 
laughed  Jess.  "  Couldn't  you  coax  one  of  them  to 
marry  you  and  Miss  Sally,  just  to  spite  the  other? 
They  do  so  much  marrying,  and  get  married  so  much 
themselves,  they  ought  to  be  pretty  well  up  in  that  kind 
of  business." 

"  Yes,  entirely  too  well  up.  No,  I  don't  want  to 
be  married  by  a  Mormon.  And  I'm  very  sure  not 
one  of  them  would  marry  Miss  Sally  Adams  to  me  — 
not  if  I  begged  him  on  my  knees.  So  my  chief  hope 
is  that  I  may  be  able  to  persuade  the  Adams  family  to 
go  on  with  us  to  California,  instead  of  stopping  at  Salt 
Lake.  Unless  I  can  do  that,  I  don't  know  how  the 
matter  will  end.  But  I  propose  to  see  that  young  lady 


242  SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

occasionally,  as  long  as  she's  within  reach  —  and  will 
ing.     They  can't  scare  me  off." 

"That's  right!  Go  it,  Phil!  We  boys  will  see 
you  through,  if  we  have  to  guard  you  over  there  and 
back  every  time  you  go.  So  far  as  your  love-affair  it 
self  is  concerned,  you'll  have  to  fight  it  out  with  your 
rivals.  We  can't  help  you  there.  But  you  shall  have  a 
fair  show,  or  there'll  be  war  between  our  two  outfits." 


CHAPTER  XXIV 

A  MIDNIGHT  FIRE-ALARM 

ONE  afternoon  the  caravan  passed  near  an  Indian 
village.  The  Indians  were  believed  to  be  Arapahoes. 
They  were  not  at  war  with  the  whites  at  this  time,  and 
the  only  trouble  they  caused  was  by  their  begging. 
They  came  swarming  around  the  wagons,  the  naked 
children  climbing  upon  the  wagons,  and  the  squaws  and 
other  naked  children  running  along  by  the  teamsters, 
begging  with  words  and  signs.  Burgess  distributed  a 
few  presents  of  sugar  and  tobacco  among  them. 

The  Indians,  as  they  made  known  by  signs,  were 
here  to  hunt  buffaloes.  The  squaws  were  busy  cutting 
up  the  meat  and  hanging  it  in  the  sun  to  dry.  Every 
day  the  men  scattered  over  the  country  to  hunt.  Most 
of  them  were  out  now.  The  village,  with  its  numerous 
tepees  of  poles  and  skins,  was  an  interesting  place  to 
Jess,  being  the  first  of  the  kind  he  had  ever  seen.  He 
watched  it  and  its  inmates  as  long  as  they  were  in  sight. 

The  caravan  moved  on,  and  when  at  length  it  stopped 
for  night,  the  Arapahoe  village  was  a  few  miles  be 
hind.  Learning  from  Granny  that  they  were  in  need 
of  meat,  Jess  mounted  a  fresh  horse  and  rode  out  in 
quest  of  buffaloes.  After  going  a  mile  or  more,  he 
discovered  a  big  drove  of  the  animals  some  distance 
ahead. 

243 


244  SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

He  rode  on  at  a  deliberate  gait,  not  caring  to  tire 
his  horse,  and  at  length  passed  over  a  rise  and  found 
himself  close  upon  the  big  game.  When  they  began 
to  move  away  from  him,  he  made  a  dash  for  them. 

Scarcely  had  he  got  well  started,  when  he  became 
aware  that  other  hunters  were  dashing  into  the  drove 
from  behind  a  sand-hill.  But  he  was  too  much  excited 
over  the  chase  to  pay  any  attention  to  them. 

Selecting  a  fat  young  cow,  he  rode  hard  till  he  had 
overtaken  her,  then  held  his  six-shooter  close  to  her 
side  and  fired  two  shots  in  rapid  succession.  She 
dropped  down  instantly,  and  was  dead  when  she  struck 
the  ground. 

After  the  wildly  fleeing  drove  had  passed  on,  and 
the  dust-fog  left  behind  them  had  partly  cleared,  Jess 
dismounted  at  his  victim.  Other  dead  buffaloes,  he 
now  noticed,  were  scattered  over  the  prairie.  They 
had  been  killed  by  the  other  hunters.  These,  as  he 
had  already  discovered,  were  Indians,  doubtless  from 
the  Arapahoe  village. 

While  not  particularly  afraid  of  them,  he  knew  they 
were  not  to  be  trusted;  and  he  took  the  precaution  to 
reload  the  two  empty  chambers  of  his  six-shooter. 
While  he  was  doing  this,  one  of  the  hunters  came  back, 
and  tying  his  horse  to  the  horns  of  a  fallen  buffalo,  fell 
to  skinning  the  animal.  The  two  were  scarcely  fifty 
yards  apart,  and  Jess  stood  watching  the  dark-skinned, 
nearly  naked  fellow  at  his  work. 

There  was  something  peculiar  about  the  Arapahoe's 
appearance.  He  had  short  hair,  his  skin  was  darker 


A  MIDNIGHT  FIRE-ALARM  245 

than  the  other  warriors  Jess  had  noticed  —  it  was 
nearer  black  than  red  —  and  his  features  were  differ 
ent.  While  the  cowboy  stood  watching  him,  the  Ara- 
pahoe  straightened  up  from  his  work  and  presently  be 
gan  to  stare  at  Jess.  Soon  he  called  out : 

"  Howdy,  Mistah  Hollerway!  Howdy!  Howdy, 
sah !  " 

Now  it  was  Jess's  turn  to  stare.  There  was  some 
thing  familiar  in  the  voice,  but  he  could  not  recall 
where  he  had  heard  it. 

'  Who  are  you,  anyhow?  And  how  do  you  come  to 
know  me?  "  he  demanded,  in  amazement. 

The  short-haired  Indian,  whose  face  was  touched 
here  and  there  with  paint,  threw  himself  back  and 
laughed  aloud. 

"  Sho  now,  yo'  ain't  done  gawn  fo'git  all  erbout  dat 
snappin'  hawg,  is  yo',  Mistah  Hollerway?  " 

"  Adams's  Tim !  "  exclaimed  the  cowboy,  his  amaze 
ment  greater  than  ever.  "  How  did  get  away  up  here, 
Tim?" 

Leading  his  horse,  he  walked  over  to  where  the 
black  man  was  skinning  the  buffalo.  Then  Tim  told 
his  story. 

After  running  away  from  the  Texas  master  who  had 
planned  to  take  him  to  Louisiana,  he  had  made  for  the 
unsettled  country  to  the  northwest.  But  scarcely  had 
he  got  beyond  the  settlements,  when  he  was  taken  cap 
tive  by  some  Comanches  returning  from  a  raid,  and 
carried  away  to  the  plains.  These  Indians  seldom  made 
prisoners  of  grown  men,  usually  killing  them  instead. 


246  SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

But  Tim's  color,  being  somewhat  like  their  own,  may 
have  caused  them  to  deal  more  leniently  with  him. 

Scarcely  had  the  captive  reached  the  Comanche  vil 
lage,  when  he  was  sold  or  transferred  to  some  other 
Indians,  perhaps  the  Kiowas,  and  by  them  passed  on 
to  the  Arapahoes,  his  present  owners.  When  the  In 
dians  discovered  that  he  was  a  good  hunter,  and  that 
he  liked  the  wild  life,  he  was  treated  more  as  one  of 
their  own  number  than  as  a  prisoner.  While  some 
slight  oversight  was  kept  on  him,  and  he  had  been 
warned  not  to  try  to  escape,  he  was  permitted  to  do 
largely  as  he  pleased. 

"  Well,  Tim,  you  have  had  a  lively  time  of  it !  "  ex 
claimed  his  listener,  when  the  narrative  was  ended. 
Then,  after  explaining  how  he  himself  came  to  be  here, 
Jess  said :  "  Do  you  know  that  Mr.  Adams  and  his 
family  are  camped  over  yonder  to  the  west,  only  a  few 
miles  away?  " 

Tim  looked  his  surprise.  "  Sho  now,  yo'  don't  say 
so !  "  he  exclaimed. 

"  If  you  want  to  escape,  you  won't  have  a  better 
chance  than  this,  Tim.  Our  camp  is  just  over  that 
rise,  about  two  miles  from  here.  Come  and  go  with 
me,  and  we'll  take  care  of  you,  even  if  it  gets  us  in 
trouble  with  the  Arapahoes." 

But  Tim  was  none  too  eager  to  escape.  "  I  don't 
b'long  to  Mas'  Tom  no  mo',"  he  objected.  "  Reckon 
maybe  I  b'longs  ter  dat  'ar  man  what  I  up  and  runned 
erway  frum.  Mas'  Tom  Adams,  ef  he  still  own  me, 
and  we  all  lib  down  in  Texas,  lak  we  used  ter,  I  go 


A  MIDNIGHT  FIRE-ALARM  247 

straight  back  —  straight  as  I  could  trabel.  But  ef  de 
w'ite  folks  gits  er  holt  er  me,  dey  sen'  me  ter  de  man 
what  wants  ter  work  me  on  dat  cotton  plantation.  No, 
reckon  I  don't  want  ter  'scape.  I  done  had  lots  er 
chances  ter  slip  off.  Powerful  sight  er  game  out  here, 
Mistah  Hollerway;  and  dis  niggah  al'ays  did  lak  ter 
hunt.  W'y>  massa,  I  wouldn't  swap  one  gun  for  all  de 
hoes  an'  plows  an'  sech  lak  ebber  was  made.  No,  sah, 
not  much  I  wouldn't." 

"  So  that's  the  size  of  the  matter,  is  it,  Tim? 
Well,  you're  the  judge.  I  believe  myself  I'd  rather 
hunt  buffaloes  than  work  on  a  cotton  plantation.  And 
I've  done  both." 

"  I  lak  powerful  well  ter  see  Mas'  Tom  an'  all  de 
folks." 

"  You  can  see  them  by  going  to  their  camp,  over 
yonder." 

"  But  Mas'  Tom,  he  up  an'  sol'  me,"  grumbled  the 
black  man,  his  face  clouding  at  the  recollection. 
"  Maybe  I  go,  an'  maybe  I  don't." 

After  they  had  talked  a  few  minutes  longer,  Jess 
said: 

"  I've  got  to  ride  over  to  camp  to  get  some  of  the 
boys  to  help  me  carry  in  my  meat.  I'll  be  back  pretty 
soon.  You  can  think  about  the  matter  while  I'm  gone, 
and  if  you  decide  that  you  like  white  people  better  than 
red  people,  you  can  go  right  over  with  us." 

He  rode  away.  When  he  returned,  half  an  hour 
later,  with  two  other  men  and  horses,  some  of  the 
Arapahoes  were  there,  skinning  their  buffaloes;  but 


248  SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

Tim  had  taken  his  buffalo-hide  and  part  of  the  meat 
and  gone.  He  failed  to  visit  the  Bar-Circle  camp,  nor 
did  any  of  the  cowboys  see  him  again.  He  loved  the 
wild  life  better  than  the  life  he  had  run  away  from. 

A  few  days  later  Gregory  wanted  to  pay  another 
visit  to  the  Mormon  camp,  and  Jess  accompanied  him. 
The  Mormons  were  still  a  few  miles  ahead. 

The  two  visitors  found  the  wagon-train  camped  in  a 
big  circle  in  the  valley.  Most  of  the  camp-fires  were 
inside  the  circle,  but  Adams's  was  outside.  All  the 
animals,  oxen,  horses  and  mules,  were  being  kept  under 
herd  not  a  great  distance  from  the  wagons. 

This  was  the  first  time  Gregory  had  called  on  Miss 
Adams  since  the  night  he  had  been  chased  and  shot  at. 
Adams  seemed  very  glad  to  see  him  and  Jess,  and  the 
girl's  greeting  was  especially  friendly  toward  both  of 
them.  As  usual,  Gregory  found  a  way  to  get  Sally  far 
enough  from  the  others  for  private  conversation. 

While  nothing  definite  was  said,  Jess  soon  learned, 
from  some  chance  remarks  let  fall  by  Adams  and  his 
wife,  that  they  were  not  too  well  pleased  with  their  life 
among  the  Mormons.  All  the  Texas  settlers  were  in 
dependent  fellows,  and  the  constant  dictation  to  which 
Adams  was  subjected  was,  one  could  easily  see,  very 
galling  to  him.  Indeed,  it  was  plain  enough  that  he 
already  half  regretted  the  step  he  had  taken,  and  half 
wished  himself  back  on  the  Brazos. 

All  the  family  were  much  surprised  to  learn  that 
Tim,  their  former  slave,  was  living  in  the  Arapahoe 
village  they  had  passed.  He  had  not  come  to  the 


A  MIDNIGHT  FIRE-ALARM  249 

Mormon  camp  to  see  them,  probably  because  he  was 
afraid  of  being  held  and  returned  to  his  owner. 
Adams  explained  to  Jess  that  he  himself  had  not  sold 
Tim  to  any  planter;  and  he  had  supposed  that  the  man 
to  whom  he  did  sell  him  would  keep  him  in  the  neigh 
borhood. 

After  starting  from  the  Mormon  camp,  Gregory 
and  Jess  took  the  precaution  to  leave  the  trail  and  make 
a  considerable  circuit,  so  as  to  avoid  anybody  that 
might  be  lying  in  wait  for  them.  Gregory  had  learned 
from  Sally  Adams  that  he  was  entirely  right  in  his 
surmise  that  it  was  a  party  of  Mormons,  and  not  of 
Indians,  that  had  given  him  such  a  fright  on  the  night 
of  his  last  visit.  He  had  also  learned  that  Adams, 
when  the  report  of  what  had  been  done  had  reached 
him,  had  denounced  it  so  angrily  that  there  was  little 
probability  that  the  offense  would  be  repeated.  How 
ever,  it  was  just  as  well  not  to  take  any  unnecessary 
risk. 

The  two  arrived  at  their  own  camp  without  being 
molested.  Gregory  was  much  elated  over  what  he 
had  learned,  and  again  and  again  he  declared  to  Jess 
his  belief  that  the  conduct  of  the  Mormon  leaders 
would  sooner  or  later  estrange  Adams  from  them. 

Day  after  day  the  two  caravans  moved  on,  keep 
ing  but  a  few  miles  apart.  At  Bent's  Fort  they  said 
good-bye  to  their  long-time  companion,  the  Arkansas, 
and  turned  north.  The  trail  they  were  now  following 
kept  in  the  open  country,  but  was  never  many  miles 
from  the  Rocky  Mountains.  Peak  after  peak  they 


25o  SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

passed,  among  them  Pike's  Peak  and  Long's  Peak; 
and  beyond  these  they  had  occasional  views  of  a  snowy 
range. 

The  weather  was  now  dry  and  warm,  but  not  sultry. 
All  the  cattle  were  holding  their  own  in  flesh,  and  some 
of  them  gaining;  and  that  in  spite  of  the  fact  that, 
owing  to  a  lack  of  rain,  the  grass  was  as  dead  as  in 
mid-winter.  It  was  very  dry,  but  having  cured  up  in 
the  sun,  it  was  also  very  nutritious.  No  time  was  lost. 
Every  day  the  long  line  of  beeves  marched  northward, 
and  the  progress  of  the  Bar-Circle  caravan  was  all  that 
could  be  expected.  Occasional  parties  of  Indians  were 
seen  in  the  distance,  but  as  yet  they  had  given  no 
trouble.  However,  wagon-trains  met  on  the  trail  re 
ported  having  heard  many  rumors  that  the  Indians 
further  north,  and  particularly  the  Sioux,  were  prepar 
ing  for  hostilities  against  the  whites. 

Gregory  still  visited  the  Mormon  camp  regularly, 
though  not  very  often.  Sometimes  Jess  or  one  of  the 
other  cowboys  accompanied  him;  at  other  times  he  rode 
over  alone.  The  Mormons,  owing,  doubtless,  to 
Adams's  vigorous  protest,  made  no  further  attempt  to 
frighten  him  away.  More  than  once  Jess  rode  ahead 
to  the  Mormon  camp  to  carry  a  note  to  Sally  Adams. 
From  all  he  could  learn,  the  love-affair  between  Greg 
ory  and  the  Mormon  girl  had  not  yet  passed  the  criti 
cal  stage,  and  the  youngest  of  the  partners  was  worry 
ing  not  a  little  over  it. 

Late  one  night,  after  the  two  caravans  had  been 
skirting  the  Rockies  for  weeks,  Sam  Patterson,  one  of 


A  MIDNIGHT  FIRE-ALARM  251 

the  night-riders,  galloped  to  the  Bar-Circle  camp  to 
arouse  the  sleeping  men.  Smoke  had  been  visible  far 
to  the  south  for  a  day  or  two,  and  they  knew  that  the 
prairie  or  the  mountains,  or  both,  were  on  fire.  But 
since  nightfall  a  strong  south  wind  had  sprung  up,  and 
now  the  whole  southern  sky  was  aglow  with  light.  A 
prairie-fire  was  approaching  fast. 

"  I  thought  I'd  better  wake  you,  Mr.  Burgess.  The 
fire's  not  in  sight  yet,  but  it  can't  be  more  than  a  few 
miles  off.  And  if  this  gale  keeps  blowing,  it'll  be  on 
us  before  we're  ready  for  it." 

"  That's  right,  Sam,"  answered  Burgess,  who  was 
dressing  and  watching  the  fire-reddened  sky  at  the  same 
time.  "  We've  got  a  lot  to  do,  and  little  time  to  do 
it  in." 

"  I'd  have  waked  you  sooner,  but  I  wasn't  quite  sure 
it  would  be  necessary.  It's  only  during  the  last  few 
minutes  that  the  light  has  been  so  bright,"  Sam  ex 
plained. 

"  The  fire  must  be  coming  fast,  and  there's  not  a 
minute  to  lose.  I  wish  you'd  go  around  the  camp  and 
stir  the  boys  out,  Sam." 

The  half-breed  dismounted  and  started  from  wagon 
to  wagon.  The  first  person  he  saw  was  Jess,  who  had 
been  aroused  by  the  talk  between  Sam  and  Burgess, 
and  was  already  up  and  dressed  and  making  for  his 
horse,  carrying  his  saddle. 

"Better  call  them  out,  Sam!"  Then  lifting  his 
voice,  Jess  himself  shouted:  "  Up  with  you,  boys, 
before  you're  roasted  out !  That  prairie-fire  has  stam- 


252  SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

peded,  and  it's  heading  straight  this  way!  "     He  hur 
ried  on  toward  his  horse. 

Every  man  in  the  camp  was  quickly  awake  and  up. 
The  cowboys  saddled  their  horses  and  stood  ready  to 
mount.  Some  of  the  teamsters  hurried  away  to  drive 
in  their  oxen.  The  whole  prairie  was  now  dimly 
lighted. 


CHAPTER  XXV 

TRAMPING  THE  BLACK  DESERT 

BURGESS  called  a  hasty  council,  and  the  unanimous 
decision  was  that  they  must  do  some  firing  themselves. 
So,  while  the  oxen  were  being  yoked  and  put  to  the 
wagons,  the  whole  force  of  cowboys  rode  out  and 
rounded  up  the  steers.  By  this  time  the  prairie-fire 
was  in  plain  view,  sweeping  toward  them  before  the 
wind  in  a  great,  far-reaching  line  of  flame. 

While  most  of  the  cowboys  kept  the  cattle  under 
close  herd,  Jess  and  Gregory  and  others  hurried  on  a 
few  hundred  yards,  following  the  wind,  and  there  be 
gan  to  fire  the  grass.  Instantly  the  flames  sprang  up 
and  sped  away,  seething  and  crackling  and  hissing  and 
roaring  as  they  went. 

"  I  hope  our  Mormon  friends  are  not  asleep,"  Jess 
remarked  to  Gregory,  as  the  two  worked  together, 
stringing  the  fire  along,  and  whipping  it  out  on  the 
windward  side. 

"  No  danger  of  that,  I  suppose,"  the  other  replied. 
But  he  stopped  and  gazed  anxiously  toward  where  the 
great  wagon-train  was  known  to  be.  It  was  several 
miles  away,  but  its  camp-fires  had  been  visible  earlier 
in  the  night. 

"  It  won't  take  our  fire  long  to  reach  them,  and  it 
would  be  an  awful  thing  if  it  should  find  them  all 
asleep,"  Jess  remarked. 

253 


254  SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

"  I  don't  see  how  it  could,  Jess.  They  keep  a 
guard  around  their  camp  every  night,  and  all  night 
long.  And  then  they  have  their  night-herders  to  look 
after  their  stock,  just  as  we  have.  It  wouldn't  be  pos 
sible  for  the  fire  —  Yes,  there  they  go  now !  Don't 
you  see?  "  he  exclaimed,  as  a  light  began  to  blaze  up 
far  away  to  the  north. 

The  light  quickly  spread  and  grew  brighter,  and  they 
knew  that  the  Mormons  had  begun  to  do  what  they 
themselves  were  doing  —  burning  a  place  to  move  their 
wagons  and  animals  over  upon  before  the  great  fire 
came. 

The  cowboys  strung  their  fire  along  for  perhaps 
half  a  mile.  The  flames  sprang  up  and  rushed  away, 
licking  up  the  dry  grass  as  they  went,  and  leaving  only 
smoke  and  blackness  behind.  After  a  brief  delay  for 
the  ground  to  cool,  the  cowboys  got  the  drove  in 
motion. 

The  steers  gazed  at  the  fires  in  a  bewildered  way, 
and  some  of  them  were  much  excited.  Jess,  who  had 
charge  of  moving  the  cattle,  kept  the  drivers  riding 
close  around  them,  and  calling  to  them,  and  singing  or 
whistling.  The  approaching  fire  was  now  very  near, 
the  whole  country  being  lighted  up  brilliantly.  An 
ominous  roar  filled  the  air. 

The  burnt-over  ground  was  smoking,  and  some  ef 
fort  was  necessary  to  get  the  cattle  upon  it,  especially 
as  the  grass  was  still  burning  on  both  sides  of  the  black 
strip.  But  after  Ball,  the  bell-steer,  had  made  a  start, 
the  others  followed.  Soon  the  cowboys,  aided  by  the 


TRAMPING  THE  BLACK  DESERT     255 

roar,  had  pushed  the  whole  drove  over  upon  the  burnt 
ground.  Close  behind  them  lumbered  the  eight 
wagons. 

And  they  were  not  a  moment  too  soon.  As  the  last 
wagon  rolled  over  upon  the  black  ground,  a  mass  of 
flame  rushed  up  behind  it,  close  enough  to  set  the  can 
vas  cover  on  fire.  The  canvas  was  quickly  extin 
guished,  and  the  fire  behind  now  died  out  for  the  lack 
of  anything  to  feed  on. 

That  the  cattle  were  held  while  the  fires  were  raging 
on  all  sides  of  them,  is  a  wonder.  Indeed,  in  spite  of 
the  drivers'  efforts  to  quiet  them,  the  big  drove  made 
rush  after  rush,  first  in  one  direction  and  then  in 
another.  But  whichever  way  they  turned,  a  line  of 
flame  confronted  them,  and  they  stopped  short,  some 
times  when  almost  upon  it.  At  last  they  stood  huddled 
together,  trembling  and  cowering  in  their  fright. 

Soon  the  prairie-fires  swept  on,  leaving  a  blackened, 
smoking  waste  behind  them.  Finally  they  passed  out 
of  sight,  though  the  northern  sky  reflected  their  glare 
till  long  afterwards. 

Now  the  work-cattle  were  unyoked  from  the  wagons 
and  turned  loose.  The  steers  in  the  drove  were  nerv 
ous  and  excited,  and  all  the  cowboys  had  to  be  kept 
on  herd-duty  till  daylight. 

Breakfast  was  being  eaten  as  the  red  sun  rose,  far 
away,  out  of  the  black  plains.  And  while  tne  partners 
were  eating  they  were  consulting.  Though  they  had 
come  out  of  the  fire  without  loss,  all  realized  that  their 
situation  was  still  serious. 


256  SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

The  whole  country  had  been  swept  bare  of  grass, 
and  the  caravan  was  left  in  the  midst  of  a  black  desert. 
There  was  absolutely  nothing  for  the  animals  to  sub 
sist  on.  Already  the  cattle  could  be  heard  bawling  — 
bawling  loudly  and  drearily.  It  was  breakfast-time 
with  them,  too;  and  there  was  no  breakfast  for  them. 
And  to  make  matters  worse,  the  fire  was  sweeping  on 
up  the  trail. 

"  There's  no  use  dodging  the  truth:  we're  in  a  tight 
place,  boys,"  Burgess  observed,  gravely.  He  was 
seated  on  the  ground,  with  his  map  spread  out  before 
him.  "  As  well  as  I  can  remember,  we're  at  least  a 
hundred  miles  from  Fort  Laramie  and  the  North 
Platte.  And  there's  not  the  slightest  doubt,  I  think, 
that  the  fire  will  sweep  all  the  country  from  here  to  the 
Platte.  There  are  some  small  streams,  but  in  this  gale 
it  will  easily  jump  those.  Nothing  but  the  Platte  will 
stop  it." 

"  No.  And  it's  there  by  this  time,"  remarked  Greg 
ory. 

"  Now  the  question  is,"  Burgess  went  on,  "  can  we 
reach  the  Platte?  Can  the  cattle,  and  especially  the 
work-cattle,  hold  out  to  travel  a  hundred  miles  with 
nothing  to  eat?  " 

"  It's  very  doubtful,"  answered  Johnson.  "  In  fact, 
it's  well-nigh  certain  they  can't." 

"  They'll  have  to  hold  out,"  Gregory  declared. 
11  It's  better  for  them  to  die  on  the  road  than  to  die 
here.  There's  nothing  but  black  starvation  for  them 
here." 


TRAMPING  THE  BLACK  DESERT     257 

"  And  it  may  be  further  back  to  grass  than  it  is  to 
the  Platte,"  said  Johnson. 

"  That's  true  enough,"  agreed  Burgess,  with  a  wor 
ried  look.  "  And  yet  something  must  be  done.  It's 
probable  ruin  to  advance,  and  more  probable  ruin  to 
retreat;  and  it's  certain  ruin  to  stay  where  we  are." 

There  was  a  dismal  silence  of  a  minute  or  two. 
Finally  Burgess  spoke  again,  this  time  addressing  all 
the  hands : 

"  Boys,  have  any  of  you  anything  to  suggest?  " 

Nobody  replied.  Jess  was  standing  with  a  piece  of 
broiled  meat  in  one  hand  and  one  of  Granny's  big, 
heavy  biscuits  in  the  other.  He  had  been  gazing 
thoughtfully  toward  the  east,  but  now  he  came  over, 
stooped  down  and  inspected  Burgess's  map. 

"  Where  are  we?  "  he  inquired. 

"  About  here,  I  think,"  replied  Burgess,  putting  his 
pencil-point  on  the  spot. 

Jess  studied  the  map  carefully,  then  straightened  up. 
"  Let's  leave  the  trail  and  drive  east,  or  a  little  north 
of  east." 

"  Why?  "  Johnson  demanded. 

Jess  pointed  in  the  direction  he  was  proposing  to 
travel.  u  I  see  smoke  boiling  up  over  there,"  he  re 
plied.  "  Where  there's  smoke  there's  fire,  and  where 
there's  fire  there's  grass  —  the  east  edge  of  the  burnt- 
over  country.  The  fire  is  eating  its  way  eastward 
slowly,  because  there's  no  wind  to  push  it  in  that  direc 
tion.  It  may  be  a  good  many  miles  to  that  smoke. 
But  when  we  once  get  there,  we'll  have  plenty  of  grass. 


258  SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

From  there  we  can  head  straight  for  the  North  Platte, 
and  then  travel  up  the  far  bank  of  that." 

Burgess  stood  up  and  studied  the  eastern  horizon 
anxiously,  as  the  others  were  doing.  "  There's  fire 
over  there;  no  doubt  about  that,"  he  soon  announced. 
u  I  hadn't  noticed  that  smoke.  That's  a  good  sugges 
tion  of  yours,  Jess." 

"  Yes,  it  is,"  agreed  Johnson.  "  But  suppose  we 
strike  rough  country  over  there  —  too  rough  for  our 
wagons." 

"  Not  much  danger  of  that,  I  guess,  Jeddy,"  an 
swered  Burgess. 

"  And  even  if  we  did,  we've  got  picks  and  spades ; 
we  can  make  a  road,"  spoke  up  Gregory. 

"There's  one  objection  to  my  plan,"  Jess  explained. 
"  The  wind  may  shift  round  to  the  west  or  northwest. 
If  it  does,  we  can  never  catch  that  fire." 

Burgess  sat  thinking.  "  Yes,  that's  a  serious  risk. 
But  we'll  take  it  —  we've  got  to  take  it,"  he  finally  an 
nounced.  "  I  don't  believe  we  can  make  it  to  Fort 
Laramie  by  the  trail ;  and  we  certainly  can't  stay  here. 
So  the  sooner  we  get  in  motion  the  better." 

After  some  discussion,  it  was  decided  that  they 
should  travel  the  road  a  few  miles  further,  till  they 
came  to  a  ridge,  or  divide,  which  they  could  now  see, 
and  then  follow  that  eastward. 

A  short  time  later  the  caravan  was  on  the  way. 
After  an  hour  or  two  it  passed  the  big  wagon-train. 
The  Mormons,  at  a  loss  what  to  do,  had  not  yet  broken 
camp.  Gregory  stopped  for  a  few  minutes  at  Adams's 


TRAMPING  THE  BLACK  DESERT     259 

wagon.  On  rejoining  his  own  party,  he  said  to  Bur 
gess: 

"  Those  people  are  wrangling  there  —  almost  quar 
reling.  It  wouldn't  surprise  me  if  they  have  a  split- 
up.  It  seems  they  held  a  meeting  last  night,  and  the 
leader  of  the  party  informed  them  he  had  received  a 
revelation  to  the  effect  that  they  were  to  have  a  very 
prosperous  journey  from  here  on  to  Salt  Lake.  And 
now,  first  thing,  they  find  themselves  in  the  midst  of  a 
grassless  desert.  It  would  be  amusing  if  it  wasn't  so 
serious.  Adams  is  both  disgusted  and  worried.  I  told 
him  of  our  plan,  and  he  liked  it,  and  said  he  was  going 
to  recommend  it  to  his  party." 

Not  a  great  distance  beyond  the  Mormon  camp,  cat 
tle  and  wagons  left  the  trail  and  headed  eastward. 
After  traveling  several  miles,  some  of  the  hands,  look 
ing  back  from  a  high  place,  discovered  that  the  Mor 
mons  were  following  them,  far  behind. 

The  Bar-Circle  party  pushed  on  steadily  till  noon, 
then  halted  to  let  the  tired,  hungry  animals  rest.  After 
an  hour  or  two,  they  got  in  motion  again.  Not  long 
before  sunset  they  stopped  for  another  short  rest. 
The  smoke  was  still  far  ahead  —  how  far  they  could 
only  guess.  The  wind,  which  had  blown  a  gale  for 
several  hours,  had  at  last  subsided. 

By  this  time  some  of  the  work-cattle  were  showing 
signs  of  failing.  In  one  of  the  wagons  were  several 
bushels  of  beans  and  peas,  in  boxes.  By  Burgess's 
orders,  the  teamsters  fed  their  oxen  with  these,  the 
weakest  animals  receiving  a  double  share. 


260  SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

"  Well,  Jess,  do  you  think  we  can  ever  overtake  that 
fire?"  Burgess  inquired,  soon  after  nightfall,  as  the 
party  were  preparing  to  get  under  way  again. 

"  We've  got  to  overtake  it,  Mr.  Burgess.  There's 
no  other  hope  for  us." 

"True  enough  —  true  enough,"  was  the  by  no 
means  cheerful  reply. 

A  little  later  both  cattle  and  wagons  were  moving 
again.  On  they  pushed,  cowboys  and  teamsters 
shouting  and  cracking  their  whips,  and  the  beef-cattle 
bawling  dismally,  hungrily  as  they  tramped  through  the 
gloom.  The  sky  was  thickly  overcast  with  smoke. 

Hour  after  hour  Jess  and  the  half-breed  guided  the 
drove  across  the  black  prairie  and  through  the  dark 
night,  toward  the  east,  where  a  dim  but  widening  red 
line  showed  that  the  prairie-fire  was  still  burning.  Un 
less  the  wind  sprang  up  from  the  west,  they  expected 
to  overtake  the  fire  and  find  grass  some  time  before 
morning. 


CHAPTER  XXVI 

THE    CATTLE    STAMPEDED   BY    SAVAGES 

WIDER  and  brighter  grew  that  red  line  in  the  east, 
till  the  fire  itself  could  be  seen.  But  it  was  still  far 
away.  At  length  Burgess  rode  forward  to  the  head 
of  the  line. 

"  Stop  the  cattle,  Jess,"  he  said.  "  We'll  give  them 
a  short  rest  here." 

So  the  cattle  were  stopped  and  allowed  to  stand.  A 
few  dropped  down  on  the  bare  ground,  but  most  of 
them  were  too  hungry  and  restless  for  that. 

"  How  late  is  it,  Mr.  Burgess  ?"  Jess  inquired. 
They  had  dismounted  and  were  standing  by  their 
horses. 

Burgess  held  his  watch  till  the  light  from  the  prairie- 
fire  shone  against  its  face. 

"  Three  minutes  till  one  o'clock,"  he  replied.  "  And 
at  dusk  I  thought  we  would  certainly  overtake  that  fire 
by  midnight,  at  the  latest." 

"  Well,  it  can't  be  much  longer  now.  That  is,  if 
the  wind  holds  still.  If  it  should  start  up  again  —  " 

u  Pray  that  it  don't  blow  from  the  west,  Jess.  It 
means  starvation  for  the  cattle  and  horses  if  it  does, 
and  ruin  for  us." 

Soon  the  caravan  was  pushing  on  again.  The  night 
seemed  to  be  getting  darker,  but  the  country  was  level 

261 


262  SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

here,  and  the  light  from  the  fire  was  growing  brighter. 

At  last,  a  little  before  three  o'clock  in  the  morning, 
the  night-marching  caravan  halted  near  a  long,  flaming 
line.  There  was  still  no  wind,  and  the  fire  was  burn 
ing  in  a  quiet,  leisurely  way.  It  stretched  north  and 
south  for  many  miles  —  further  than  the  eye  could 
reach. 

The  cattle  had  stopped  of  their  own  accord  when 
the  leaders  were  scarcely  a  hundred  yards  from  the  fire, 
and  stood  gazing  at  it.  Jess  and  others  of  the  drivers 
dismounted,  and  slipping  out  their  saddle-blankets,  fell 
upon  the  blazing  grass  with  them  and  soon  had  a  few 
rods  of  it  whipped  out.  Then  they  mounted  again  and 
started  the  cattle  toward  the  opening. 

The  moment  the  hungry  steers  discovered  the  un- 
burnt  prairie,  they  broke  into  a  trot,  which  quickly  be 
came  first  a  gallop  and  then  a  headlong  flight,  much 
like  a  stampede.  On  coming  to  the  grass,  they  stopped 
and  began  to  stuff  themselves  greedily  with  it;  and  they 
could  scarcely  be  driven  further.  The  wagons  had  to 
crowd  their  way  through  the  drove  to  reach  a  camping 
place  beyond. 

"  Now,  boys,"  said  Burgess,  "  the  first  thing  on 
hand  is  to  whip  out  a  lot  of  that  fire.  The  wind  has 
a  way  of  suddenly  swooping  down  from  the  mountains 
here,  as  you  know;  and  after  being  still  a  few  hours, 
it's  likely  to  do  that  at  any  minute  now.  And  we  want 
to  save  all  the  grass  we  can  here.  We'd  better  beat 
out  at  least  two  miles  of  it —  a  mile  in  each  direction." 

"  Two  miles  in  each  direction  might  be  better,"  Jess 


THE  CATTLE  STAMPEDED  263 

remarked.  '  Those  Mormons  must  be  somewhere  be 
hind  us,  and  they've  got  several  hundred  head  of  cattle 
and  horses." 

"  That's  right,  Joe,"  spoke  up  Gregory.  "  We 
mustn't  forget  our  Mormons.  They're  on  our  trail, 
and  their  work-animals  will  give  out  if  they  don't 
find  grazing  here." 

Turning  loose  their  hungry  horses  on  the  grass,  the 
men  seized  their  saddle-blankets  and,  separating  into 
two  gangs  of  nearly  a  dozen  each,  went  to  whipping 
out  the  fire.  There  being  so  many  of  them,  they 
moved  rapidly,  and  before  long  the  gangs  were  two 
or  three  miles  apart. 

The  wisdom  of  what  they  were  doing  was  soon  evi 
dent.  For  while  they  were  still  hard  at  work,  a  strong, 
chilly  west  wind  swept  down  upon  them.  Instantly  the 
fires,  which  had  been  burning  slowly  and  gently,  sprang 
up  and  rushed  away,  with  a  frightful  roar ! 

The  fire-fighters  now  turned  and  followed  the  fires, 
keeping  close  behind  them  for  two  or  three  miles,  and 
flailing  them  out  at  the  edges,  so  as  to  protect  the  tract 
of  country  around  their  camp.  The  sun  was  shining, 
dimly,  when,  their  faces  red  with  sweat  and  black  with 
smut,  they  let  the  fires  go  and  returned  to  the  wagons. 

"  Well,  we've  got  a  few  square  miles  of  good  graz 
ing  left  here,"  Gregory  remarked,  as  they  gathered 
around  the  camp-fire  to  begin  their  breakfast. 

"  Yes,  it's  a  great  deal  better  than  burnt  ground;  but 
it  won't  last  all  these  cattle  and  horses  very  long,"  said 
Burgess. 


264  SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

"  No.  And  we  don't  want  to  stay  here  very  long," 
Johnson  assured  them. 

The  party  had  found  water  occasionally  on  the  way, 
so  their  animals  were  not  suffering  from  thirst.  And, 
by  good  luck,  there  was  a  little  stream  running  across 
the  unburnt  tract. 

The  Mormons  were  now  expected,  but  they  failed  to 
come.  Nor  were  they  anywhere  in  sight.  But  the 
country  was  too  uneven  here  for  one  to  see  far.  Two 
or  three  hours  after  breakfast  Gregory  invited  Jess  to 
take  a  ride  with  him,  to  learn,  if  they  could,  what  had 
become  of  the  missing  wagon-train. 

Jess  was  willing,  and  they  followed  the  trail  back  a 
few  miles.  The  Mormons  were  nowhere  to  be  seen. 
But  on  riding  to  the  top  of  a  low  mound,  the  horsemen 
caught  sight  of  the  white-topped  wagons.  They  were 
far  to  the  south,  toiling  along  slowly,  painfully.  The 
Mormons  had  lost  the  Bar-Circle  trail  in  the  dark, 
and  were  wandering  they  knew  not  where. 

Gregory  and  Jess  set  off  toward  the  lost  wagon- 
train,  and  not  long  after  noon  succeeded  in  guiding  it 
to  the  little  spot  of  unburnt  country.  What  would  have 
become  of  the  party  if  they  had  not  reached  this  grassy 
oasis  in  the  black  desert,  is  uncertain.  All  their  oxen 
were  nearly  exhausted.  Indeed,  some  of  them  had 
fallen  under  the  yoke,  and  had  been  taken  out  and  left 
by  the  way. 

The  two  caravans  rested  during  the  remainder  of 
the  day,  and  allowed  their  animals  to  graze  and  re 
cuperate  their  strength.  The  grass  was  short  here,  but 
very  nutritious;  and  both  cattle  and  horses  seemed 


THE  CATTLE  STAMPEDED  265 

never  to  get  enough  of  it.  The  Mormons  who  had 
had  to  leave  oxen  behind  came  and  received  some 
beans  from  Burgess;  and  with  these  and  some  bags  of 
grass  they  had  pulled,  they  followed  back  their  own 
trail  in  search  of  the  exhausted  animals.  They  suc 
ceeded  in  bringing  in  all  but  one,  and  that  one  had  been 
killed  and  devoured  by  wolves. 

The  Mormon  camp  was  not  far  from  the  Bar-Circle 
camp,  and  the  two  parties  became  acquainted  and  got 
on  somewhat  friendly  terms  during  the  day.  Late  in 
the  afternoon  Burgess  held  a  consultation  with  the 
Mormon  leaders,  and  it  was  decided  to  send  out  a 
party  to  find  the  nearest  and  best  way  to  the  North 
Platte. 

The  party,  numbering  ten  men,  started  at  daylight 
next  morning.  Gregory,  Johnson  and  Jess  represented 
the  Bar-Circle  Outfit;  and  among  the  seven  Mormons 
in  it  was  Adams.  The  party  did  not  return  till  the  end 
of  the  second  day. 

They  reported  having  been  to  the  Platte,  and  esti 
mated  the  distance  at  forty-five  or  fifty  miles.  They 
had  found  good  grass  on  the  north  bank  of  the  river, 
but  on  this  side  the  fire  had  swept  the  whole  country 
bare. 

The  little  grassy  oasis  the  two  caravans  were  camped 
on  would  soon  be  grazed  clean,  and  the  water  was  get 
ting  very  muddy.  So  Burgess  and  his  partners  de 
cided  to  start  for  the  Platte  next  morning.  The  Mor 
mons  expected  to  remain  a  day  longer. 

Promptly  at  daylight  the  following  morning  the  Bar- 
Circle  caravan  began  its  long  march  through  the  black, 


266  SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

grassless  country.  It  stopped  an  hour  or  two  before 
sunset,  but  continued  to  travel  during  the  night.  The 
hungry  steers  could  not  be  held  together  unless  they 
were  kept  moving. 

It  was  long  past  midnight  when  Jess  and  the  other 
cowboys  at  the  head  of  the  column,  looking  down  from 
the  top  of  a  rise,  saw  the  waters  of  the  Platte  shining 
in  the  starlight.  At  last  they  had  reached  the  end  of 
their  long,  hard  drive. 

Crossing  over,  they  found  good  grazing  beyond,  and 
went  into  camp  a  few  hundred  yards  from  the  river, 
in  a  wide,  level  valley.  The  upper  Overland  Trail  — 
the  principal  gold-seeker's  trail  from  the  States  to  Cali 
fornia  —  followed  up  this  valley. 

They  decided  to  remain  here  three  or  four  days,  and 
would  spend  part  of  the  time  hunting,  to  lay  in  a  sup 
ply  of  buffalo-meat.  They  expected  the  Mormons  on 
the  day  following  their  arrival,  but  the  big  wagon-train 
failed  to  make  its  appearance.  While  they  were  think 
ing  of  going  in  search  of  it,  some  of  their  hunters  dis 
covered  that  the  Mormons  had  struck  the  Platte  at  a 
point  about  ten  miles  below,  and  had  gone  into  camp 
there. 

Their  teams,  it  was  learned,  had  been  so  nearly  ex 
hausted  by  the  time  they  reached  the  river  that  they 
found  it  necessary  to  stop  their  wagons  on  the  south 
bank.  After  driving  the  oxen  across  and  allowing 
them  to  graze  for  half  a  day,  they  had  taken  them  back 
and  pulled  their  wagons  to  the  north  side.  And  there 
they  expected  to  remain  a  week  or  more. 


THE  CATTLE  STAMPEDED          267 

The  Bar-Circle  Outfit  had  set  a  day  to  resume  their 
march  toward  California.  But  on  the  morning  before, 
they  were  awakened,  just  at  daybreak,  by  a  frightful 
chorus  of  yells  coming  from  up  the  valley.  The  cat 
tle  were  up  there,  a  good  distance  from  the  wagons. 

The  men  sprang  out  of  their  blankets,  seized  their 
weapons,  and  began  to  throw  their  saddles  on  their 
staked  horses.  Just  as  they  were  mounting,  three  of 
the  four  night-herders  came  dashing  toward  the  camp 
as  fast  as  they  could  ride,  followed  by  a  saddled  but 
riderless  horse. 

"  The  Indians  have  got  Dick,  and  they're  stamped 
ing  the  cattle !  "  shouted  Jess,  who  was  one  of  the 
three. 

Burgess  sprang  into  his  saddle  and  started  to  the 
rescue.  "  Come  on,  boys !  "  he  roared,  in  his  anger. 
"  We'll  show  the  red  varmints  how  to  —  " 

"  You  can't  do  anything,  Mr.  Burgess !  "  cried  a 
herder.  "  There  are  hundreds  and  hundreds  of  'em ! 
They're  thick  as  hornets  up  there !  " 

"  But  maybe  we  can  save  Dick!  "  Burgess  reined  up 
his  horse. 

"  No,  you  can't!  Dick's  dead!"  replied  Jess. 
"  They  shot  a  hundred  arrows  at  us,  and  we  saw  him 
fall !  They'll  attack  the  camp  next !  We'd  better  get 
ready  for  them  here !  " 

All  this  time  the  savage  yells  were  making  the  valley 
ring,  and  they  alone  would  have  confirmed  the  truth 
of  what  the  night-herders  said.  The  Indians  were 
among  the  cattle,  scattering  them  in  every  direction. 


268  SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

Burgess  now  abandoned  his  purpose  to  attack  the 
savages,  and  they  all  began  hurried  preparations  to 
meet  an  attack  on  the  camp,  if  one  should  be  made. 
The  wagons  were  already  in  a  loose  circle,  and  they 
closed  them  up,  after  putting  their  horses  inside,  and 
chained  their  wheels  together.  The  men  were  now  dis 
tributed  around,  three  to  each  wagon,  so  that  every 
part  of  the  circle  would  be  defended. 

The  usually  quiet  Burgess  was  thoroughly  aroused. 
"  Now,  boys,"  he  called  out,  "  protect  yourselves  as 
best  you  can !  Get  something  in  front  of  you  that  will 
turn  bullets  and  arrows.  And  then  when  the  redskins 
come  within  range,  don't  waste  lead.  Do  your  best 
to  make  every  bullet  get  its  Indian !  " 

The  advice  to  the  men  to  protect  themselves  was 
wholly  unnecessary.  No  sooner  had  their  places  been 
assigned  them  than  every  one  looked  about  for  some 
thing  to  put  in  front  of  him.  Some  piled  up  saddles; 
others  got  boxes  and  bags  out  of  the  wagons ;  but  most 
of  them  chose  to  hollow  out  a  trench  in  the  ground. 

That  was  what  Jess  did.  He  and  Hawk  Tail  and 
Soos  had  been  assigned  to  the  same  wagon. 

"  All  these  horses  loose.  They  go  crazy  when  we 
shoot,  shoot,  shoot,"  suggested  the  Mexican.  "  Walky 
on  top  of  we." 

"  No  walky  on  top  me !  "  declared  Hawk  Tail,  point 
ing  under  the  wagon. 

"  That's  right,  boys,"  answered  Jess.  "  We'd  bet 
ter  crawl  under  there,  where  we  won't  get  trampled 
on."  And  under  they  dived. 


CHAPTER  XXVII 

CIRCLED   BY   FLYING    SIOUX 

THEN  they  fell  to  work  in  the  loose,  sandy  soil,  dig 
ging  it  up  with  their  sheath-knives,  and  piling  it  in 
front  of  them  with  their  hands. 

Rapidly  they  worked,  and  they  soon  had  a  hole  a 
foot  deep,  or  deeper,  and  long  enough  and  wide  enough 
for  the  three  to  hide  themselves  in  it.  They  were  still 
digging,  however,  when  they  heard  some  one  call  out 
that  the  redskins  were  coming.  Now  they  got  their 
guns  and  six-shooters  in  readiness,  placed  their  powder- 
horns  and  ammunition-pouches  where  they  could  put 
their  hands  on  them,  and  waited. 

They  had  not  long  to  wait.  Before  the  last  shadows 
of  night  had  faded  out,  the  savages  were  seen  coming 
down  the  valley  at  a  run.  Having  stampeded  and 
scattered  the  cattle,  they  were  now  hurrying  down  to 
fall  upon  the  camp. 

There  seemed  to  be  at  least  a  hundred  and  fifty  of 
them.  Part  of  their  number  stopped  some  distance 
back.  The  others  made  as  if  they  were  going  to  pass 
by.  But  instead  of  doing  so,  they  threw  themselves 
down  so  as  to  shield  their  bodies  behind  their  horses, 
and  began  to  circle  the  camp,  at  full  speed.  This  was 
their  favorite  mode  of  attack  in  the  open  country. 
And  as  they  circled  they  were  letting  fly  their  arrows 
at  the  wagons. 

269 


270  SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

Round  and  round  they  sped,  one  some  distance  be 
hind  another,  and  every  one  going  so  fast  that  it  seemed 
impossible  to  take  aim  at  either  horse  or  rider.  In 
deed,  a  brown,  naked  arm  and  a  brown,  naked  leg  were 
about  all  of  the  warrior  that  was  exposed  to  view. 

At  first  Jess  was  very  nervous,  and  his  bullets  un 
doubtedly  flew  wild.  But  he  realized  that  that  would 
never  do.  By  a  strong  effort  of  will  he  soon  got  his 
nerves  under  control.  Now  he  would  lay  his  rifle  over 
the  pile  of  loose  earth  in  front  of  his  trench,  and  take 
careful  aim  at  a  point  where  he  knew  an  Indian  would 
pass.  And  the  moment  one  came  within  range  he 
would  pull  the  trigger. 

How  much  damage  he  was  doing  he  could  not  tell; 
for  rifles  were  cracking  all  around  the  circle,  as  fast  as 
their  owners  could  reload  and  shoot.  But  every  now 
and  then  a  redskin  would  drop  from  his  horse,  and  as 
often  a  horse  would  go  down  with  his  rider. 

Ever  since  the  battle  opened  the  loose  horses  in  the 
ring  of  wagons  had  been  dashing  round  and  round,  first 
in  one  direction  and  then  in  another,  trying  to  break 
out.  But  the  men  under  the  wagons  were  too  busy  to 
pay  any  attention  to  them.  Only  about  half  of  the 
Indians,  it  was  noticed,  were  in  the  flying  circle  at  the 
same  time.  When  a  warrior's  horse  became  too  tired 
to  keep  up  the  pace,  he  would  drop  out,  and  another 
warrior  would  promptly  take  his  place. 

Hour  after  hour  dragged  by,  and  still  the  battle 
raged.  The  savages  kept  up  their  flying  circle,  their 
arrows  all  the  time  coming  thick  and  fast  And  the 


THE    ATTACK    ON    THE    WAGONS. 


CIRCLED  BY  FLYING  SIOUX         271 

desperate  defenders,  at  bay  under  the  wagons,  stuck 
grimly  to  their  work,  plying  their  rifles  as  only  men  can 
who  know  that  their  lives  depend  on  them. 

Daylight  had  not  yet  fully  come  when  the  savages 
began  their  attack  on  the  Bar-Circle  camp;  and  so  de 
termined  were  they  that  the  sun  had  climbed  half-way 
toward  the  meridian  before  they  sullenly  withdrew, 
carrying  their  wounded  and  most  of  their  dead  with 
them.  Just  how  great  had  been  their  losses  was  not 
known.  But  they  must  have  suffered  severely  at  the 
hands  of  those  cowboy  riflemen.  Two  of  their  war 
riors  and  more  than  a  dozen  of  their  horses  were  left 
lying  dead  around  the  camp. 

When  the  party  under  the  circled  wagons  crawled 
out  and  looked  around  them,  it  was  found  that,  thanks 
to  their  sheltered  positions,  they  had  escaped  very 
lightly.  Five  of  their  number  were  wounded,  Johnson 
among  them,  but  not  one  seriously.  They  had  lost  but 
one  man  —  Dick  McCarty,  who  had  been  killed  at 
daybreak,  when  the  redskins  had  suddenly  swooped 
down  upon  the  night-riders  and  the  cattle.  A  dozen 
or  so  of  the  cowboys  now  went  up  and  carried  him  down 
to  camp. 

Besides  these  injuries  to  the  men,  two  of  the  horses 
in  the  enclosure  had  been  killed,  and  others  wounded, 
one  so  seriously  that  he  had  to  be  shot. 

Little  was  done  during  the  rest  of  that  day,  the 
whole  party  remaining  in  a  dazed  condition.  Though 
they  had  come  out  of  the  battle  far  better  than  could 
have  been  expected,  they  felt  very  sad  over  their  dead 


272  SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

companion.  And  besides,  all  their  cattle,  including 
their  teams,  were  gone,  and  most  of  their  horses.  And 
not  one  of  the  party  doubted  for  a  moment  that  that 
was  the  end  —  the  pitiful  end  —  of  all  their  months  of 
hard  work. 

Late  that  afternoon  they  dug  a  grave  out  at  the  foot 
of  a  hill,  at  the  north  edge  of  the  valley;  and  early  next 
morning  they  wrapped  the  fallen  cowboy  in  his  blankets 
and  buried  him  there.  Afterwards  they  also  buried 
the  dead  Indians,  to  get  them  out  of  sight,  and  dragged 
off  the  dead  horses. 

Then  they  returned  to  camp  and  sat  around  in 
moody  silence.  Nobody  seemed  to  know  what  to  do; 
and  nobody  seemed  to  have  any  plans  for  the  future. 

For  once  even  Jess  was  silent  and  pre-occupied. 
Sometimes  he  thought  of  trying  to  go  on  to  California, 
and  sometimes  he  wished  himself  back  in  Texas  — 
wished  he  had  never  started  from  there.  He  had  be 
come  so  taken  up  with  the  plan  of  getting  the  big  drove 
through  to  the  Pacific  coast,  that  he  felt  the  loss  of  the 
cattle  almost  as  acutely  as  did  the  partners  themselves. 

They  were  all  aroused  from  their  lethargy  by  dis 
covering  a  party  of  nearly  twenty  mounted  men  com 
ing  up  the  valley.  The  horsemen  proved  to  be  Mor 
mons.  They,  too,  had  been  attacked,  at  about  the  same 
time,  by  a  large  force  of  Indians,  believed  to  be  Sioux. 
They  had  beaten  the  Indians  off,  killing  a  number  of 
them,  but  not  till  they  themselves  had  had  three  men 
killed  outright,  and  more  than  a  dozen  wounded. 

And  besides  that,   all  their  oxen  had  been   driven 


CIRCLED  BY  FLYING  SIOUX          273 

away,  and  more  than  half  their  horses.  They  were  ut 
terly  helpless. 

The  party  had  come  to  see  if  the  Bar-Circlers  had 
been  attacked,  and,  if  so,  how  they  had  fared.  On  the 
way  up  they  had  passed  a  bunch  of  steers,  numbering 
a  hundred  or  more,  that  had  been  part  of  the  big  drove. 
From  this  they  had  easily  guessed  what  had  happened. 

It  was  now  proposed  that  the  two  parties  move  their 
camps  close  together  as  soon  as  they  could.  For  there 
was  no  telling  when  the  Sioux  would  return,  in  larger 
numbers,  and  commence  another  attack.  All  admitted 
that  they  had  made  a  sad  mistake  in  not  keeping  close 
together  here,  as  they  had  done  during  most  of  their 
journey  from  Fort  Gibson.  Possibly  the  Indians  would 
not  have  been  bold  enough  to  attack  the  two  caravans 
together. 

Before  either  of  the  camps  could  be  moved,  teams 
were  necessary.  So  fifteen  of  the  cowboys,  Jess 
among  them,  saddled  their  horses,  and  they  and  the 
Mormons  started  out  to  see  if  they  could  round  up  the 
oxen. 

They  were  away  all  the  afternoon.  When  they  re 
turned  they  were  driving  about  twenty  of  the  Bar-Circle 
work-cattle,  and  more  than  two  hundred  of  the  beef- 
steers.  None  of  the  partners  had  gone  out,  all  being 
too  much  discouraged  to  do  anything;  and  it  was  a  sur 
prise  to  them  to  see  so  many  of  their  lost  cattle  being 
driven  in. 

"  I  tell  you,  Mr.  Burgess,  our  steers  are  all  close 
about  here  somewhere,  and  there's  no  reason  in  the 


274  SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

world  that  we  shouldn't  get  out  and  round  them  up," 
declared  Jess,  whose  cheerfulness  and  enthusiasm  had 
revived,  all  the  stronger  for  having  been  crushed  down 
for  a  few  hours. 

"  Do  you  think  so,  Jess?  "  answered  Burgess,  smil 
ing  a  smile  which  meant  that  he  refused  to  be  deluded 
any  longer. 

"  I  know  so !  "  insisted  the  young  cowboy.  "  And 
if  you  say  the  word,  we  boys  will  go  out  and  bring  them 
in.  The  Indians  didn't  drive  them  off.  They  never 
steal  cattle  —  so  everybody  says.  They  only  scattered 
them  for  deviltry.  And  the  steers  are  not  likely  to 
drift  many  miles." 

"  All  right,  go  ahead.  You  boys  bring  in  what  you 
can.  You  may  be  able  to  save  some  of  them."  Bur 
gess  refused  to  display  more  than  a  passing  interest. 

The  Mormons  went  back  to  their  own  camp  that 
night.  It  was  understood  that  the  Bar-Circlers  would 
begin  to  move  down  the  river  next  morning. 

The  little  drove  of  recovered  steers  was  kept  under 
herd  that  night.  At  daylight  Jess  and  Gregory  started 
out,  with  about  a  dozen  of  the  cowboys,  to  see  if  they 
could  find  more  cattle.  They  returned  in  an  hour  or 
two,  bringing  nearly  fifty  head  of  beeves,  and  a  dozen 
or  so  of  the  work-animals. 

They  now  had  oxen  enough  to  move  all  their  wagons ; 
and  a  little  later  what  was  left  of  the  Bar-Circle  cara 
van  was  on  its  way  down  the  river.  There  was  a  well- 
beaten  road,  the  gold-seekers'  and  emigrants'  trail  fol 
lowing  the  valley  here. 


CIRCLED  BY  FLYING  SIOUX          275 

Soon  after  noon  the  travelers  came  upon  the  Mor 
mon  wagon-train,  and  established  their  own  camp  half 
a  mile  up  the  river  from  it.  They  had  found  about  a 
hundred  of  their  steers  on  the  way  down;  and  in  the 
afternoon  a  party  went  out  and  succeeded  in  rounding 
up  nearly  two  hundred  more.  The  Mormons,  who 
were  scouring  the  country  in  search  of  their  lost  oxen, 
also  brought  in  between  seventy-five  and  a  hundred  of 
the  Bar-Circle  steers. 

The  drove  had  now  grown  to  more  than  six  hundred 
head,  and  Burgess  and  his  partners  had  become  con 
vinced  that  it  would  be  possible  to  recover  the  greater 
part  of  the  scattered  steers.  So,  from  this  time  on, 
half  the  cowboys  went  out  every  forenoon  and  the 
other  half  every  afternoon.  All  might  have  gone  out 
at  the  same  time,  but  they  had  scarcely  a  horse  apiece, 
and  it  would  not  do  to  ride  the  same  horses  every  day 
and  all  day  long.  The  Mormons,  some  of  whom  were 
out  early  and  late,  were  also  bringing  in  all  the  steers 
they  could  find. 

This  went  on  for  weeks.  Much  hard  riding  was 
necessary,  but,  to  the  surprise  of  everybody,  the  Bar- 
Circle  party  succeeded  in  finding  every  one  of  their 
work-cattle  and  all  but  about  fifty  head  of  their  beeves. 
They  also  recovered  nearly  thirty  of  their  lost  horses, 
which,  it  seems,  had  stampeded  and  crossed  the  river, 
where  the  Sioux  failed  to  find  them. 

The  Mormons  were  not  so  fortunate.  Though  they 
scoured  the  country  far  and  near,  and  brought  in  num 
bers  of  steers  wearing  the  bar-circle,  they  themselves 


276  SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

found  less  than  a  dozen  of  their  own  oxen.  But  one 
day  Jess  and  a  party  of  cowboys  with  him,  when  far  up 
toward  the  Black  Hills,  came  upon  a  considerable  drove 
of  the  Mormon  cattle,  and  brought  them  to  camp. 

These,  being  about  one-third  of  the  oxen  the  Mor 
mons  had  lost,  were  all  they  recovered.  In  retreating 
northward,  after  being  defeated,  the  Sioux  had  prob 
ably  driven  the  Mormons'  work-cattle  with  them,  know 
ing  that  by  so  doing  they  were  hopelessly  crippling  the 
wagon-train.  If  the  owners  of  the  oxen  had  extended 
their  search  into  the  Black  Hills,  they  might  have  found 
the  rest  of  their  animals  there.  But  they  dared  not  ven 
ture  so  far. 

The  Mormons  were  now  much  in  need  of  oxen  for 
their  teams,  but  had,  all  together,  about  forty  horses 
they  could  spare.  The  partners,  on  the  other  hand, 
had  plenty  of  cattle,  but  were  greatly  in  need  of  horses. 
So  an  arrangement  was  made  by  which  each  party  sup 
plied  the  other's  needs. 

The  Bar-Circle  Outfit  received  such  of  the  Mormons' 
horses  as  could  be  used  in  driving  cattle ;  and  in  payment 
the  Mormons  were  permitted  to  select  from  the  drove  a 
number  of  steers,  of  equal  value,  which  they  broke, 
training  them  to  work  under  the  yoke.  They  also 
bought  a  goodly  number  of  additional  steers. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII 

TO  ANOTHER  DESTINATION 

ALL  this  required  time,  and  nearly  a  month  was  lost 
here.  At  last,  however,  the  Bar-Circle  caravan  was 
ready  to  resume  its  travels.  But  not  toward  Cali 
fornia.  That  had  been  understood  all  the  time. 

"  It's  a  wise  man  that  knows  better  than  to  attempt 
the  impossible,"  Burgess  remarked,  in  discussing  the 
matter.  '  This  is  September  now,  and  winter  begins 
early  in  these  high  altitudes.  The  ground  would  be 
covered  with  snow  by  the  time  we  got  well  into  the 
mountains,  and  probably  every  animal  weVe  got  would 
starve  to  death.  Our  only  hope  of  saving  ourselves  is 
to  turn  and  drive  to  St.  Louis.  The  distance  is  less 
than  half  as  far,  and  we  shall  have  a  good  road,  and  all 
fall  to  make  the  drive  in." 

"  No,  we  can't  go  on.  That's  utterly  out  of  the 
question  now,"  said  Johnson.  "  Even  if  we  got  over 
the  Rockies,  we  couldn't  cross  the  Sierra  Nevadas. 
They  tell  some  awful  tales  of  travelers  caught  in  those 
mountains  at  the  beginning  of  winter.  In  a  party  of 
eighty  that  got  snowed  in  there  in  '46,  nearly  half 
starved  to  death,  and  the  survivors  only  survived  by 
eating  their  dead  companions.  I  talked  with  one  of 
those  that  got  through.  It  was  the  most  horrible  story 
I've  ever  heard.  The  snow  sometimes  gets  ten  feet 
deep  on  the  level  there,  they  claim,  and  seventy-five  or 

277 


278  SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

a  hundred  feet  in  the  valleys.  No,  sir  I  None  of  the 
Sierras  in  winter  for  me !  " 

So  it  was  understood  that  they  should  turn  and  drive 
eastward  from  here,  following  the  gold-seekers'  trail 
to  the  Missouri  River.  Jess  was  not  seriously  disap 
pointed,  but  some  of  the  hands  were,  and  especially 
Soos  the  Mexican.  But  all  accepted  the  change  readily 
when  they  learned  what  awaited  them  if  they  traveled 
west. 

The  three  owners  regretted  having  to  give  up  their 
original  plan,  and  Gregory  more  than  the  others.  So 
far  as  could  be  learned,  Adams  was  going  on  to  Salt 
Lake  with  the  Mormons.  During  the  time  the  two 
wagon-trains  had  been  camped  so  close  together,  Greg 
ory  had  been  doing  his  utmost,  in  a  quiet  way,  to  sep 
arate  the  Adamses  from  their  party;  but  all  in  vain,  as 
it  seemed.  Sally  Adams  would  have  been  glad  enough 
to  travel  in  the  opposite  direction  —  so  Gregory  told 
Jess ;  but  she  could  not  go  without  her  relatives. 

One  afternoon,  only  two  days  before  the  time  set  to 
start,  Jess  sprang  on  a  staked  horse,  bareback,  and  rode 
to  the  river  to  water  him.  As  he  was  climbing  the 
river-bank,  he  discovered  a  wagon-train  coming  down 
the  valley.  So  he  stopped  at  the  roadside  and  waited, 
sitting  on  his  horse,  for  the  train  to  pass.  There  were 
about  thirty  wagons  and  several  mounted  men. 

While  the  party  was  filing  by,  Jess  noticed  a  horse 
man  in  whose  smooth-shaven  face  there  was  something 
familiar. 

"  Where  are  you  from?  "  he  called  out 


TO  ANOTHER  DESTINATION         279 

The  man  reined  aside.  "  From  California,"  he  an 
swered.  "  Most  of  us  are  miners,  returning  to  our  old 
homes  in  the  States.  Anything  new?  "  All  travelers 
out  here  were  eager  for  news. 

Jess  told  him  everything  he  could  think  of,  and  then 
remarked : 

"  It  seems  to  me  I've  seen  you  somewhere,  but  for 
the  life  of  me  I  can't  recall  where  it  was." 

The  miner  looked  at  the  cowboy  closely.  "  I  don't 
remember  seeing  you.  My  name  is  Adams." 

"  What !     Not  Boone  Adams  ?  " 

"  Yes,  Boone  Adams.  Where  did  you  know  me?  " 
he  demanded,  in  surprise. 

"  I  didn't  know  you  at  all.  Never  set  eyes  on  you 
till  just  now." 

Adams  looked  still  more  surprised. 

"  You  see,"  Jess  explained,  "  I  know  your  sister, 
and  I've  heard  her  speak  of  you  often.  There's  a 
marked  family  resemblance  between  you  and  her. 
That's  what  made  me  stop  you." 

"  You  know  my  sister,  in  Texas?  " 

"  She  used  to  be  in  Texas.  She's  yonder  in  that 
Mormon  camp  now." 

"  What!  Sally  here?  The  last  letter  I  had  from 
her,  she  was  somewhere  on  the  Brazos  River,  with 
Uncle  Tom.  I've  been  expecting  to  go  down  there 
and  get  her." 

"  She's  still  with  your  uncle.  But  he  and  all  his 
family  are  camped  yonder.  They're  Mormons  now, 
and  on  their  way  to  Salt  Lake.  And  in  this  camp  here 


280  SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

are  three  more  people  you  know  —  Joe  Burgess,  Phil 
Gregory  and  Jeddy  Johnson." 

Adams  was  astonished.  "  Wait  a  minute !  "  he  ex 
claimed,  as  he  wheeled  and  galloped  after  the  wagons, 
which  had  passed  on. 

They  soon  stopped.  Later  they  left  the  road  and 
went  into  camp,  between  the  two  other  camps.  Young 
Adams  spent  part  of  the  afternoon  among  the  Mor 
mons,  and  part  of  it  in  the  cowboys'  camp,  talking  over 
their  experiences  with  the  three  '49-ers  there. 

Next  morning  early  the  Mormons,  who  were  now 
ready  to  continue  their  journey,  yoked  their  teams  and 
put  them  to  their  wagons.  Soon  the  long  wagon-train 
had  broken  camp  and  was  moving  up  the  valley.  Ad 
ams  started  as  if  going  also;  but  when  opposite  the 
camp  of  the  Californians  he  left  the  road  and  drove 
over  to  them.  The  Mormons  went  on  without  him. 

"  I'm  tired  of  being  fed  on  false  prophecies,"  was 
the  only  explanation  he  offered,  as  he  began  to  unyoke 
his  oxen. 

He  was  going  east  as  far  as  Missouri,  he  said. 
What  he  would  do  on  arriving  there  he  did  not  yet 
know,  but  he  had  some  thought  of  returning  to  Texas. 
Sally  Adams,  it  was  soon  reported,  would  go  back  to 
Kentucky  with  her  brother,  who  had  dug  several  thou 
sand  dollars  in  gold  out  of  the  California  mines,  and 
was  on  his  way  home  to  enjoy  it.  But  Gregory  soon 
confided  to  Jess  that  Sally  would  do  nothing  of  the 
kind,  he  and  she  having  made  other  plans. 

Next  morning  the  two  parties,  the  Bar-Circlers  and 


TO  ANOTHER  DESTINATION         281 

the  Californians,  got  together  and  started  east.     Be 
sides  the  cattle,  there  were  now  nearly  forty  wagons. 

The  journey  toward  civilization  lasted  a  few  weeks, 
and  was  not  particularly  eventful.  Once  the  caravan 
was  threatened  by  a  considerable  force  of  Indians,  but 
it  was  not  attacked.  Twice  the  cattle  stampeded, 
though  they  did  not  run  far  or  scatter  much,  and  were 
easily  rounded  up  next  morning.  The  weather  was 
dry,  and  could  scarcely  have  been  pleasanter  for  travel 
ing.  It  was  still  fine  when  the  big  drove,  followed  by 
the  wagon-train,  arrived  near  Independence,  on  the 
Missouri  River,  not  far  from  where  Kansas  City  would 
afterwards  spring  up. 

While  the  whole  party  were  yet  camped  a  few 
miles  from  Independence,  Gregory  and  Jess  saddled 
their  horses  and  rode  to  town.  When  they  came  back, 
there  was  a  third  man  with  them  —  a  minister.  In  the 
presence  of  the  cowboys  and  the  returned  miners,  Phil 
Gregory  and  Miss  Sally  Adams  stood  up  together,  at 
the  door  of  Adams's  tent,  and  were  married.  Plainly 
as  the  young  woman  was  dressed,  all  the  men  declared 
they  had  never  seen  a  handsomer  bride;  and  all  agreed* 
that  her  husband  was  a  man  much  to  be  envied. 

An  hour  after  the  wedding  Gregory  and  his  bride 
said  good-bye  to  their  traveling  companions,  and 
mounting  horses,  rode  to  Independence.  There  they 
caught  a  steamboat  for  Boonville,  near  which  Greg 
ory's  father  and  mother  and  other  relatives  lived. 
Young  Adams  accompanied  them,,  on  his  way  to  Ken 
tucky. 


282  SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

Now  the  rest  of  the  party  quickly  broke  up.  The 
miners  scattered  to  their  various  homes;  and  Adams 
and  his  family  set  out  for  Texas.  The  partners  also 
separated. 

They  had  already  sold  their  surplus  wagons,  and 
such  of  their  supplies  as  had  not  been  consumed  or 
disposed  of.  And  now  the  cattle  were  divided,  and  so 
were  the  cowboys.  Johnson  drove  his  share  of  the 
steers,  and  also  Gregory's,  down  the  Missouri  River. 
Gregory's  third  would  be  left  at  his  home;  but  Johnson 
would  drive  his  on  and  take  them  over  into  Illinois,  to 
be  fattened  for  the  St.  Louis  market. 

Burgess,  having  learned  that  corn  and  other  kinds 
of  feed  were  very  cheap  away  from  the  river,  had  de 
cided  to  winter  his  cattle  in  western  Missouri.  So, 
with  one  wagon,  he  drove  south,  stopping  about  fifty 
miles  from  Independence.  Among  the  cowboys  who 
remained  with  him  were  Jess,  Sam  Patterson,  the  half- 
breed,  and  Hawk  Tail  and  Soos.  As  soon  as  the  cat 
tle  were  stopped,  all  the  cowboys  but  two  went  on,  Sam 
and  Hawk  Tail  returning  to  the  land  of  the  Choctaws, 
and  the  others  to  Texas. 

Jess  and  Soos  remained  with  Burgess,  helping  him  to 
herd  his  cattle  till  cold  weather  began.  Then  the 
steers  were  scattered,  being  "  let  out "  among  the 
farmers  to  be  wintered  and  fattened.  As  soon  as  grass 
came  up  in  the  spring,  Burgess  engaged  hands  and 
drove  to  St.  Louis. 

Soos  was  one  of  the  drivers,  but  Jess,  being  other 
wise  employed,  could  not  go  with  them.  He  after- 


TO  ANOTHER  DESTINATION         283 

wards  received  a  letter  from  Burgess,  saying  that  he 
had  met  his  former  partners  in  St.  Louis,  and  that  they 
had  all  disposed  of  their  cattle  there  at  about  the  same 
time,  and  at  a  fair  price.  Burgess  was  about  to  return 
to  his  former  home  in  Illinois. 

A  little  later  Jess  also  received  a  letter  from  Greg 
ory.  He  had  gone  into  a  law-office  and  was  now  hard 
at  work.  He  and  his  wife  sent  Jess  a  warm  invitation 
to  visit  them  at  their  home  —  an  invitation  that  circum 
stances  would  prevent  the  young  man  from  ever  accept 
ing. 

Regarding  their  profits,  Gregory  wrote  that  while  he 
and  his  partners  had  not  made  as  much  money  as  they 
would  doubtless  have  made  if  they  had  got  their  cattle 
through  to  California,  they  had  nothing  to  complain 
of  on  that  score.  Each  of  them  had  received  all  his 
money  back,  and  a  few  thousand  dollars  besides.  On 
the  whole,  their  enterprise,  in  spite  of  all  its  misfor 
tunes,  and  of  its  seeming  failure,  had  been  entirely  suc 
cessful. 

Of  the  various  characters  in  this  story,  there  are  only 
two  that  Jess  ever  received  any  word  from  afterwards. 
A  few  years  later  he  accidentally  learned  that  Jeddy 
Johnson,  who  was  a  restless,  roving  fellow,  had  gone 
to  the  Indian  Territory,  where,  it  seems,  he  had  mar 
ried  a  Cherokee  woman.  A  few  months  later  he  had 
been  killed  by  lightning. 

Long  years  afterwards  Jess  also  heard  of  Soos. 
After  receiving  his  liberty  from  Burgess,  the  Mexican 
had  not  returned  to  California,  but  had  married  a  mu- 


284  SADDLES  AND  LARIATS 

latto  woman  and  was  still  living  in  Missouri,  the  father 
of  a  large  family. 

Jess  himself,  with  the  money  received  for  his  services 
as  a  cowboy,  formed  a  partnership  with  an  older  man 
and  opened  a  country  store  in  the  east  edge  of  what 
was  then  Kansas  Territory,  but  a  mile  or  two  from  the 
Missouri  line.  There  he  remained  a  few  years,  mak 
ing  some  money.  When  gold  was  discovered  in  the 
vicinity  of  Pike's  Peak,  he  caught  the  fever  and  crossed 
the  plains.  Several  months  he  spent  in  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  digging  up  some  gold  and  a  large  amount 
of  interesting  experience. 

He  finally  went  back  to  western  Missouri.  And  it 
was  there  that  he  married  —  the  sister  of  a  returned 
*49-er.  Later  he  and  his  wife  removed  to  Texas. 

During  the  Civil  War,  while  Northerner  and  South 
erner  were  fighting  each  other,  and  for  years  after 
wards,  he  too  was  busy  fighting  —  fighting  Indians. 
Part  of  this  time  he  spent  in  a  settlers'  fort,  formed  as 
a  protection  from  the  savage  Comanches.  After  more 
than  ten  years  in  an  Indian-infested  country,  he  re 
turned,  with  his  family,  to  Missouri.  But  his  attach 
ment  to  the  southland  was  not  easily  broken,  and  he 
afterwards  went  back  to  Texas.  There  he  still  lives, 
in  a  thickly  settled  community,  the  owner  and  manager 
of  a  large,  prosperous  cotton-farm. 

The  years  have  dealt  very  kindly  with  him,  as  they 
are  apt  to  deal  with  perpetually  cheerful  people.  His 
head  is  almost  as  brown  as  it  ever  was,  and  he  shows 
few  signs  of  age.  His  children  are  all  grown,  but  he 


TO  ANOTHER  DESTINATION         285 

himself  is  still  a  boy,  and  always  will  be.  He  goes 
swimming  with  the  school-boys,  and  helps  them  to  whip 
out  bumble-bee  nests.  And  he  thinks  no  more  of  jump 
ing  on  a  horse  bareback  and  galloping  away  than  he 
did  half  a  century  or  more  ago. 

The  stream  of  life  flows  smoothly  now  for  this  for 
mer  cowboy,  gold-seeker  and  frontiersman.  But  he 
likes  to  talk  of  the  old,  adventurous  days,  and  of  none 
more  than  of  the  time  when  he  and  the  rest  of  the 
Bar-Circle  Outfit  tried,  and  tried  in  vain,  to  take  the 
big  drove  of  longhorns  from  Texas  to  California. 


THE    END 


THE  WHITE  RIVER 
RAFT 

By  LEWIS   B.   MILLER 

The  scene  of  this  stirring  tale  is  laid  in  the 
Mississippi  Valley  more  than  half  a  century  ago, 
when  the  river  steamer,  flatboats  and  rafts  were 
the  principal  means  of  communication  throughout 
that  section.  The  country  was  new  and  scantily 
settled  and  the  mighty  river  was  not  only  the  main 
highway  through  which  people  had  to  travel,  but 
also  sheltered  swarms  of  pirates  and  other  lawless 
folk  whose  activities,  together  with  the  perils  of 
storm  and  flood,  often  tried  the  courage  and 
endurance  of  the  voyager.  The  author  does  not 
depend  upon  superhuman  feats  or  improbable 
events,  finding  the  stern  realities  of  the  time 
replete  with  excitement  and  adventure.  It  is  as 
described  the  largely  true  story  of  a  logging  trip 
into  the  flooded  forests  of  Arkansas,  followed  by 
an  eventful  raft  voyage  down  the  great  river  to 
New  Orleans.  Illustrated  by  J.  W.  F.  Kennedy. 

Cloth,  i2mo.  $1.50 

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